I believe it is a pretty obvious statement by now that the pandemic has challenged us in more ways than one. We hear about it every day in the news and see it every day with the variety of classic sky blue and extremely blinged-out masks that people wear about. The global pandemic isn’t something we can ignore and hope it goes away in a night. It’s a slow and steady process we have to work through together.

However, it is hard to make progress in eliminating the virus when there are people still partying like the pandemic never existed in the first place. 

I understand that college is supposed to be a time to let loose and to have some fun. We’re taking care of ourselves and what our future has in store, and exploring who we really are. Sometimes that includes parties, which also serve as a great way to meet new people. But now, my own views on parties have shifted. I can’t look at a party now without seeing it as a reckless, dangerous maneuver that can endanger the lives of those who attend it, and even beyond that. 

The reason I bring this up is because of the alleged rumors of students on campus, specifically sports teams, hosting parties in their own dorms and getting busted. I myself am not on campus, but I hear about them from a good amount of friends that are currently on campus. 

To say I was angry after hearing about the parties is an understatement. My mother is a health care worker, someone who works long hours day and night to help people who are either affected by COVID-19 or affiliated with those affected. From her I hear about the horrors of the virus and the toll it has really taken on her coworkers and the public. So when word reached my ears about the students on campus who have signed off to follow the regulations the school has sent out purposefully violating those guidelines and throwing away the trust the school has in us to bring us back, I was disgusted.

The fact that some of Dickinson’s current population, the very faces of our world’s future, are hosting parties is highly disappointing, disrespectful, and infuriating. If you are someone who willingly chooses to host a party during a pandemic, you are just as bad as the anti-maskers. You are the reason that hundreds of thousands have died to COVID-19, and why that number is still growing. 

How would you feel if one of those people at your party was a family member? Or someone you know who is at high risk? Would you still go about your reckless acts and put them in danger? So why would you do that with your peers?

People who have parties on campus should be punished to the fullest extent, regardless of if you are on a sports team or not. Either you make amends or get off of campus. Clearly you cannot be trusted to be there. Think of others before yourself and your selfish acts.