This year on campus, COVID-19 is rapidly spreading between students. Just in the last three weeks of students being back on campus, we have seen a record number of COVID cases. Even though cases are at an all-time high, Dickinson protocols for students with COVID are slowly disappearing .

Unfortunately, I caught COVID after just one week of being on campus. On the first day, I developed a mild, dry cough. During the next few days, I had a mild fever and did not have very much energy. I did not lose my sense of smell and taste, nor did I have any breathing issues. I am lucky enough to call my case of COVID mild.

On day zero of my isolation, I decided to stay on campus and isolate myself in my dorm, as my roommate had also caught COVID. The college no longer offers students with covid a place to isolate and instead is asking students to isolate in their dorms, even if they have a roommate who does not have covid.

I emailed all of my professors to inform them that I would be out of class for the week. Luckily, all my professors were understanding and informed me of how things were going to function during my isolation.

Throughout the days of isolation, I attended classes via Zoom. Unfortunately, almost every Zoom class was difficult to hear and see. Sometimes my professors would write on a whiteboard that I was unable to see or did not share their screen on Zoom while going through a presentation. Other times, the class would be having a discussion that was close to inaudible. It was a challenge to not fall behind in my academics while I was in isolation.

One of the most frustrating aspects of my isolation process was getting food. Unlike last year, the school seemingly has no plan to get food to students with COVID. During my appointment, the Wellness Center informed me that If I am staying on campus, I will get food from my friends. Throughout my five days of isolation, I was pestering my friends to bring food to my dorm two or three times a day. Luckily, my friends were more than willing to help.

The process of obtaining food was the most frustrating and puzzling aspect of having COVID on campus. It is somewhat baffling that the school seemingly has no plans to bring food to students. Last year, the campus utilized Dickinson Public Safety officers to bring sick students meals. This year, that option is completely absent.