COVID-19 has been impacting peoples’ daily lives ever since it spread in the United States. Students aren’t able to go out with our friends, enjoy movies or simply just hangout. But the truth is, there really is a purpose to all this. Making contact with the coronavirus, would ensure a quarantine, meaning you wouldn’t be able to do all those things that you want to escape quarantine to do anyways. Moreover, stopping quarantine now could ensure that significantly more people get it. So, when asking “is the risk really worth it?” the answer is, “not really.”
Students should not go back to school the following semester, regardless of whether a vaccine has been introduced or not. If students were to go back to school, sure, they would feel happy on the inside when they are freely able to communicate and be in contact with others, but this would all change once a student gets the virus. It’s still unknown if the supposed vaccine is effective for each person’s body type; even if everyone has been introduced to the vaccine, testing would be too rushed to know if it is completely reliable or not. Remaining at home during these tough times would also assure the safety of our students. If a single student; a single student were to have the virus within their body, it would compromise the safety the entire school if we were present during the following semester.
It is a bit painful staying away from others at all times and not being able to hang out with friends, but it is worth it for more than just the students’ sake. Adults could easily come into contact with the virus from students who wish to return to school. Bringing students together into classrooms and placing them side by side (potentially disregarding the 6 feet distance rule) is reckless, regardless of whether they are wearing masks or not. The situation is clearly avoidable. If students would want to go back to school just to see their friends, they would risk their health, their protection, and end up back where they first started; isolated from all human contact.
Even staying in distance learning can leave students with something to appreciate. Not only do students get to wake up a bit later than normal, but they are in the safety and comfort of their homes while learning. Utilizing this comforting environment for alternative teaching methods and innovation can end up doing long term good, even if the short term change may be jarring. It comes down to where the administration places its focus, not simply whether students are at school.
In conclusion, we should not go back to school the following semester whether or not a vaccine has been introduced. It is only to ensure our protection and safety, because going out and socializing with other people exposes us to the risk of contacting the coronavirus. Sure, it minimizes interactions with others, but doing that exact thing risks our health. The importance contacting and associating with others, as nice as it may sound, pales in comparison to the grave consequences of putting students’ health and safety at risk.
This editorial piece reflects the author’s viewpoints only and not necessarily the viewpoints of Mira Loma Today’s staff, editors, or associated students.
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