2008 Woodie Awards
Friends don't let friends attend class while sick
Elizabeth Watts
Issue date: 2/13/07 Section: Viewpoints
It seems like everyone is sick on campus. It's either a cold, stomach bug or sinuses. During the winter months, our immune system is weak because we're holed inside our rooms.
Someone once told me that college students can spread sickness around like rats. If one person has the flu, it's only a matter of time before the entire dorm becomes infected. People should practice good hygiene habits to keep from spreading germs everywhere.
The first piece of advice I want to give everyone is to cover your mouth when you cough. I don't want to see the spit and snot fly out of your mouth and land on my history notes. That is disgusting and juvenile. Sometimes a sneeze or a cough will catch you off guard, but for the love of all that's pure and sanitary at least make some attempt to keep your air-borne bacteria to yourself.
Second piece of advice is to wash your hands. It's scary the amount of germs that are spread from objects we use all the time. The telephone receiver you just picked up and placed on your ear probably has germs. How many people do you think have touched the mouse you're using in the computer lab?
Thirdly, students should try to eat healthier than the occasional piece of lettuce they have on their sub. A poor diet can cause a person's immune system to drop drastically. If students eat right and exercise, they'll be less likely to get sick. If you eat more than pizza, you won't be laying in bed shivering while you wait for the Nyquil to put you into a medicine-induced coma.
The final piece of advice I have is that if you're really sick, don't come to class! I don't want to catch whatever illness you have festering in your body.
In any given class, I hear a random chorus of sniffs, coughs and throat clearing. Sometimes it's so loud that I can barely hear my professor lecturing.
I'm not saying that students should stay home any time they don't feel good. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and force yourself to go to class. However, if you're having explosive diarrhea and volatile vomiting, I don't care to bear witness to that little catastrophe.
So, if you're sick, please use a little common sense and decide whether it's safe for you to come to class. I don't have any insurance and I don't need you infecting me.
Someone once told me that college students can spread sickness around like rats. If one person has the flu, it's only a matter of time before the entire dorm becomes infected. People should practice good hygiene habits to keep from spreading germs everywhere.
The first piece of advice I want to give everyone is to cover your mouth when you cough. I don't want to see the spit and snot fly out of your mouth and land on my history notes. That is disgusting and juvenile. Sometimes a sneeze or a cough will catch you off guard, but for the love of all that's pure and sanitary at least make some attempt to keep your air-borne bacteria to yourself.
Second piece of advice is to wash your hands. It's scary the amount of germs that are spread from objects we use all the time. The telephone receiver you just picked up and placed on your ear probably has germs. How many people do you think have touched the mouse you're using in the computer lab?
Thirdly, students should try to eat healthier than the occasional piece of lettuce they have on their sub. A poor diet can cause a person's immune system to drop drastically. If students eat right and exercise, they'll be less likely to get sick. If you eat more than pizza, you won't be laying in bed shivering while you wait for the Nyquil to put you into a medicine-induced coma.
The final piece of advice I have is that if you're really sick, don't come to class! I don't want to catch whatever illness you have festering in your body.
In any given class, I hear a random chorus of sniffs, coughs and throat clearing. Sometimes it's so loud that I can barely hear my professor lecturing.
I'm not saying that students should stay home any time they don't feel good. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and force yourself to go to class. However, if you're having explosive diarrhea and volatile vomiting, I don't care to bear witness to that little catastrophe.
So, if you're sick, please use a little common sense and decide whether it's safe for you to come to class. I don't have any insurance and I don't need you infecting me.
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