By Will Poladian, Contributing writer
This year has been a wild and unique one to say the least. From having classes virtually or just having to wear a mask wherever you go, it has started to become the new normal. We all hope that it’s over soon, but we don’t know how much longer this will last. Will it die down when we get a vaccine? Students, faculty and staff all want to go back the way life used to be. Going to concerts, sporting events and just hanging out with friends without having to quarantine or socially distance.
St. Bonaventure University, as a whole, has done a fantastic job making sure a COVID-19 outbreak doesn’t happen on campus. Making sure students follow precautions and protocols was one of the biggest priorities for this whole semester to succeed. By making sure students sanitize desks before and after students use them and the use of assigned seats for contract tracing, Bonaventure is not taking any chances and is making safety the number one priority.
So far, St. Bonaventure University has had only three cases.
The first case was discovered when students who were required to quarantine on campus before the rest of the student body were permitted back on campus on Aug. 5. All students were required to get a negative PCR COVID-19 test before arriving on campus. The positive test was discovered after they first arrived on campus. They were cleared by the time everyone came to campus.
The second case was discovered on Sept. 4 after an off-campus student felt they had symptoms and decided to self-quarantine.
A few days after the positive test, a party in Garden Apartments East was busted. Twenty-eight students were suspended for taking part in the party. They were asked to return their keys and IDs and will only be allowed back on campus once their judicial hearings begin.
Understandably students can’t wait until all the protocols and precautions are lifted, or at least until they are less strict. They want to go make new friends and have fun with the ones they have made already. It is inexcusable to have this happen on campus, especially during a time of a global pandemic. If they could have just had a little bit of patience this all could’ve been avoided. No outbreaks hopefully occur from this act.
The third case was discovered on Monday when a member of the University’s men’s basketball team also tested positive. All members of the basketball team were not allowed to go to classes that day. All sports practices were cancelled for the day out of precaution. This student has tested negative after a second test. A third test was administered, and the results are still pending, according to Tapinto Greater Olean.
Hopefully, St. Bonaventure University doesn’t have any more cases, but don’t be surprised if a few more do happen. It is more than likely that at least a few more happen. We just need to prevent the huge outbreak from happening. As long as we strive to be the safest we can be, we should be okay.
