Column: Talk to your roommates about social distancing

Leah Mensch Opinions Editor

It’s 2020 — the sex talk is out, and the social distancing talk is in.

In all seriousness, living with roommates means having difcult conversations — usually about cleaning the shower, the obscenely high electric bills and overly loud sexual partners. Pitt should be ofering realistic guidance on campus social distancing, but beyond a delusional shelter-in-place plan and a few mentions of podding, administration has again been sitting on its hands.

Proper social distancing and podding — when a small group of people decide to be each other’s only contacts — consists of far more than just fnding a group and saying, “we’re a pod.” To actually execute podding correctly and safely, you are going to have to do a lot of personal contact tracing, and you’re going to have to have a lot of awkward conversations. One of these conversations has to be with your roommates.

Te world of social distancing isn’t black and white. Avoiding restaurants, bars and large gatherings is crucial to slowing the spread of COVID-19, but avoiding public gathering spaces alone isn’t enough. Social distancing means keeping a 6 foot minimum space between yourself and anyone who isn’t part of your family unit — for example, your roommate — or a member of your pod. Social distancing also means

Dalia Maeroff Staff IlluStrator

that your social life will not look the same come fall. Or at least, it shouldn’t. I wish so much that this wasn’t the case, but it is. And if we want to keep each other safe, we have to honor that.

Tis isn’t the semester to meet the acquaintance from your literature class for a cup of cofee to catch up, and this isn’t the semester to have a Tinder date over for dinner. If you do decide to do either of these things, it’s something you should report to your pod. You should assume that every person anyone in your pod is exposed to, you are also exposed to. So if you are in prolonged, close contact without a mask with someone outside your pod, you should behave as if you’re then in contact with everyone they’ve been in contact with. Tis is all to say that choices that, in the past, have never afected the people you live with, are now going to really afect the people you live with.

For the most part, you can choose your pod members based on your and their level of comfort. Talk to your friends about who they’re seeing, and who the people they are seeing are seeing. Find out if they go to work, and if they’re planning to attend in-person classes. Ask if they go to restaurants, and if they are in close contact with high risk individuals. Ten, everyone makes a mutual decision on whether or not to see each other. But the one person you have no choice but to pod with is your roommate. And you are likely exposed to everyone that your roommate is exposed to.

If this sounds complicated, it’s because podding is complicated.

What you’re comfortable with might not be what your roommate is comfortable with. You might have a roommate who is a frontline worker, or you might have a roommate with an autoimmune disorder. You might have a roommate who wants to party, or you might have a roommate who wants to isolate completely. You can’t ignore this topic with your roommates, and you’re going to have to fnd a way to pod that makes See Mensch on page 31 18