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Opinions

Media heightens hysteria over coronavirus Unnecessary amount of coverage fuels fear

By Kalli Colacino Opinions Editor

It’s all you hear about on TV. It’s the latest and greatest thing to overreact about — it’s the coronavirus. The world has been on edge since December 2019, when the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China. And of course, the virus didn’t stay contained to China for long. According to Medscape, the first international case was reported in Thailand on Jan. 13.

Now, I know it’s unnerving to hear that there’s a scary, potentially-deadly virus spreading like wildfire, but it shouldn’t be our main concern. Yes, it is important to be aware of the coronavirus, but it is not as big of a deal as everyone (particularly the media) is portraying it to be. No one seems to be phased by the flu, even though it is a much more common and life-threatening virus.

According to the CDC, it is estimated that there were between 34,000,000 to 49,000,000 flu illnesses in the U.S. alone in the span of five months (Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 29, 2020) and between 20,000 to 52,000 flu deaths.

There are 101,846 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in 96 countries and territories, according to worldometer, and 3,462 deaths in the span of approximately three months. This means that the coronavirus and the flu are on totally different levels. If you want to panic about a virus, it should be the flu — not the coronavirus.

Everywhere I go, the coronavirus is all I hear about. Don’t get me wrong — I am a big supporter of being conscious of what is happening in the world, but it’s too much. I appreciate the College sending out emails to keep students and faculty aware of the situation, but it is causing more panic than it needs to. My gym even emailed me to tell me about the coronavirus and how to take steps to prevent it.

Taking precautions is always a good thing to do, but people are frightened half to death. I have friends who don’t even want to leave their house. Now what is causing this panic? It is all the media is talking about. News outlets, radio shows and major publications are forcing this fear upon us.

I understand why many people are panicking. I’ll admit — I was panicking too when I heard there was a coronavirus case confirmed in the U.S. But I quickly came to my senses and realized that there is always a virus going around. It is something we have to deal with and try to contain, but we should definitely not be afraid to venture outside. There will always be an illness going around and there will always be risks of catching it. The fear of the coronavirus should not Statistics show that the flu is more life-threatening than the coronavirus.

stop people from doing what they need to do.

We have pushed aside the fact that the flu is a predominant and realistic issue that is currently much more dangerous. As a college student working part time, I am always worried about getting sick and missing work and my classes.

But I am not going to let the worry dictate my every move.

It is important to be aware of the illnesses going around and to take precautions, such as washing your hands, getting more sleep and taking vitamins. But at the end of the day, don’t let the fear of an overdramatized virus consume you.

Wawa vs. Sheetz: The great debate of the East Coast

Wawa offers a variety of coffee and latte options.

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By Mathias Altman-Kurosaki

As a student-athlete who spent four weeks on campus during winter break while operating on a limited budget, I know the benefits of having a Wawa nearby. My teammates and I would go to the Wawa on Sylvia Street after morning

practice to pick up coffee and subs. This was a near-daily trip that we would take. Some of us made multiple trips to Wawa in a day if we didn’t feel like cooking another meal and wanted a cheaper option than what is offered at nearby restaurants.

However, as great as Wawa is, they face fierce competition from

Sheetz. While Sheetz is mainly based out of Pennsylvania, the stores are very similar — both are gas stations and convenience stores that serve food and a variety of beverage options.

When taking a glance at the two menus, Sheetz offers more choices. They have burgers and pizzas, neither of which are offered at Wawa. They also have an extensive list of hot and cold subs, just like Wawa. However, some of the options at Sheetz do not sound very good. On the cold sub menu, there is an option to order a cold bacon sub. It is very hard to imagine how bacon, something that should only be served hot, can taste good cold. The fact that any place could serve cold bacon is sickening.

The Wawa menu has three different options for hoagie sizes: the four-inch junior roll, the six-inch shorti roll and the 10- inch classic roll. Sheetz sandwiches only come as six-inch or 12-inch subs. Wawa has always had the option to order hoagies with chicken strips and various dressings on them. Recently, they added a Southern Honey Hot option that includes grits.

Wawa’s menu has extensive bowl options that are hard to find elsewhere. Such options include mac and cheese and mashed potatoes with chicken tenders and mac and cheese with barbecue beef. While Sheetz also has mac and cheese bowls, they don’t have the mashed potato option or the 50/50 option (half mac and cheese, half mashed potatoes).

Wawa and Sheetz are both relatively affordable. However, Wawa’s quality and service are what sets it apart. At Wawa, the meat is flavorful and they offer an extensive variety of dressings compared to their competitor, Sheetz. When customers ask for bacon, they make sure the bacon is warm and crisp. The service at Wawa is lightning fast. They start making your order as soon as you input it at one of the touch-screen stations. It’s not uncommon for orders to be prepared and ready to go before customers get the chance to pay for their meal. I have only experienced long waits for my meals at Sheetz. The biggest difference between the two convenience stores is the quality of beverages. As someone who can’t function without coffee, I rely on Wawa’s coffee heavily to get me through the week. It’s not just their “one-dollar any size coffee” deal that they run everyso-often, but it’s their cold brew coffee that really puts Wawa on another level. Sheetz does not offer cold brew as a menu item, whereas Wawa allows customers to order different flavors of the delicious cold brew coffee, and they even offer cold brew lattes. Additionally, Wawa’s milkshakes, while they don’t have as many flavor options as Sheetz, are on the same level as Shake Shack and Five Guys, but cost much less (milkshakes at Wawa cost $2.99 for the 16 oz. option, or $3.99 for the 24 oz. option — whereas Shake Shack costs $5.29 for a 12 oz. milkshake).

Wawa versus Sheetz is a debate that will forever be argued about on the East Coast. However, quality always beats quantity, which is why Wawa will always be superior.

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