Critical lens on MMU safety regulations

Are COVID guidelines being enforced?

Words Emily Blazer | Photo & Design Denisse Hernandez

There are signs all over campus that remind students to take their health surveys, properly wash their hands and remain socially distant.

One of the first things people see when they enter Mount Mary University’s Caroline Hall is a fold-up table adorned with health surveys for staff and students. The surveys ask if they have any symptoms relevant to COVID-19, such as a temperature above 100.4 degrees or fatigue.

Signs on the walls read: “Have you taken your health survey today?” Products such as hand sanitizer, masks and gloves are grouped together on the table. This is the new normal for Mount Mary and campuses across the country.

Employees and students can find newsletters outlining the steps that Mount Mary has taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus under the tab named COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Resources on my.mtmary.edu. For example, face masks are required in all buildings on campus and strongly recommended outside unless students are alone. Students should walk on the right side of the hallway with six feet between the person in front and/or behind them. All in-person classes should have socially-distanced seating. However, students and staff have varied opinions about the implementation of these rules.

Feeling Safe in the Classroom

Dr. Jeremy Edison, a mathematics professor on campus, admits that the guidelines bring new challenges pertaining to his teaching, but overall feels like they are being upheld and are effective.

“Ideally in a non-pandemic (classroom), I wouldn’t be standing at the front of the room while teaching as much as I do,” Edison said. “I think with the classes being held on campus there has to be some balances and things like that. Sometimes people lean in to ask each other questions, but I think the university’s ‘close contact’ (definition) means closer than six feet for 15 minutes. (That) is the guideline that I’ve been told. For the most part, in the classrooms that I’ve been in, the students have done a good job of enforcing those measures.”

Cassandra Stutzman, senior at Mount Mary, thinks that COVID-19 precautions are being handled to the best of the university’s ability.

“I think that they are handling it in the best way that they can at this time,” she said. “Yes, the masks are annoying and I strongly dislike them. However, at the moment, I believe that the university requiring students to wear them is for the best.”

However, Stutzman also says that it is difficult to remain socially distant in the fashion labs.

“In fashion, you can’t stand six feet away from someone and point out the things that need to be changed,” Stutzman said. “You have to stand right next to them and say, ‘I want you to do this,’ while your hand is on or near whatever is being sewn to show exactly what you want done.”

A major concern is sanitation. The coronavirus can reside on surfaces and spread to the students. Students have to rely on the staff, and sometimes themselves, to disinfect the spaces where events take place.

Jade Langkau, a senior at Mount Mary and president of the Student Government Association, is concerned about the cleanliness on campus.

“Potentially, if you have 15 students in a classroom and they are cleaning up after themselves, all of them will have touched the two spray bottles and (some may) not use hand sanitizer. I thought the professor was supposed to touch the spray bottle,” Langkau said. “As for the dining hall, they are cleaning the tables often, but there is not a way to clean the tables 100% since there is no one watching me and my friends sit down, eat quickly and then leave. They may not notice that that table has been used.”

COVID Guidelines in the Residence Hall

While safety measures may be being followed in the classrooms, some students believe that the opposite is true in the dorms. Angelica Zietlow, a freshman, claims that social distancing is not consistenly practiced in the halls.

“We sometimes are closer than six feet (in the dorms), like when we pass each other in the hallway, or are in the kitchen at the same time,” Zietlow said. “I understand that it’s not exactly possible to be six feet apart at all times, especially when we all live with each other in a shared space, but it’s one of the guidelines, nonetheless.”

Zietlow also expressed the concern that there’s no way to know if Caroline Hall residents have come into contact with someone with COVID-19.

“In the dorms, we also aren’t allowed to have any guests currently,” Zietlow said. “The rule makes sense, but is also kind of useless when you consider the fact that we do not know who everyone is coming into contact with when they are outside the dorms.”

Another student, wishing to be anonymous, added that she hasn’t seen people without masks in the dorm hallways. However, she’s seen people without masks when they are working at the front desk.

“I think it’s really important that the people who are at the front desk set a good example for everyone else coming in because they are usually the first people you see when entering Caroline Hall,” she said. “If someone sees a (Mount Mary) worker not wearing a mask, then they will feel like they shouldn’t have to wear a mask.” Members of the Mount Mary University COVID-19 task force did not get back for a comment.

Spray bottles filled with disinfectant are in every classroom. After class, students’ desks must be wiped down.

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