Editor’s note: The author of this piece has requested to remain anonymous.
I was sitting in class, scrolling through Outlook when an email suddenly popped up: “IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT YOUR COVID TEST! Call this number, and do not leave your dorm room until you contact us.” I quickly collected all of my things and left class. I knew I had tested positive for COVID-19. En route back to my room, Residential Life called me and explained that I needed to move, and to wait for further instructions. I eventually packed my things, just enough for two weeks, and entered isolation at Radnor on Friday, October 1st.
Upon my arrival, I noticed some things were strange. First, it was freezing in my room. The air conditioner was still installed, and a slight draft in the space between the air conditioner and the wall kept my room very cold all the time. This was something that didn’t bother me for the first couple days. I asked for heating but received only a blanket. I understand the college’s probable rationale—why spend an entire dorm’s worth of an energy bill for three people?—but it was cold.
In addition to the lack of heating, there was also a lack of transparency. Before I left, I was called by a contact tracer from the Health Center. When asked if my close contacts would be tested, I was told yes. They took down a list of my close contacts. I inquired multiple times about how my close contacts would be dealt with and never received a firm answer. I later learned that none of my close contacts would be tested, and that the college had updated their definition of a close contact to coincide with Montgomery County’s definition, a person within six feet for more than fifteen minutes two days prior to the positive test. That took my close contacts list from six people to one. That one person would be put into isolation for fourteen days.
I also asked if my in-person professors would be contacted and was told that the Health Center would contact them directly. I emailed them myself to explain my situation and to tell them that they should have been contacted by the college. One of my in-person professors told me she had not been contacted at all. I had been in her class the day I tested positive. She had not been contacted because the Health Center falsely assumed that all PE classes, including hers, were remote.
I find it immensely concerning that had I trusted the college to contact her, rather than reaching out myself, she would never have known about my circumstances. I also think that knowing who has tested positive in your class is especially helpful in person. Say you sat close to or interacted with this person in class; even if the class follows social distancing guidelines, students should have the option of attending remotely. Another issue I have is that the majority of my calls were handled by interns at the Health Center—who were apparently not informed on the school’s basic protocols. Placing students’ mental and physical health in the hands of interns is not appropriate. This is a serious situation which requires more professional support so that the college can best accommodate student needs.
It was stressful not to have transparency about my close contacts. When would they be contacted? What if they were unknowingly spreading the virus? Why were my close contacts relying on me for information? I was nervous, and my nerves were exacerbated by the fact that the Health Center had made an initial call to one person, who was later deemed not to meet the definition of “close contact,” and told them they would likely need to quarantine. I do understand that this was the first cohort of on-campus students to test positive for COVID-19, but I expected clear, consistent protocol regarding close contact identification, contact tracing, and protocol. Unfortunately, there wasn’t.
Another major area of concern is the lack of transparency once we are given the greenlight to exit quarantine. I had no idea when I was going to leave, although I had been told 10 days after my positive test. That would put me out on Saturday, October 1st. I was left a voicemail Monday the 12th by the Health Center saying I could leave. When I entered, a long email had been sent to explain the process for moving in, but where was that email now, when I had to move back? It was raining. I didn’t know if Campus Safety had permission to pick up my things. I didn’t know if I was able to return to in-person classes. On top of that, my Mondays are very busy. With a lab in the afternoon, I had an hour to pack and leave if I wanted to leave that day before class. I asked the other person in my hall if they had received any warning about leaving, they said they had not been contacted at all. They asked if I had received any meals today, and I had not. Obviously something was wrong, no meals meant that staff probably thought we were out of isolation. Left in the dark, I called Residential Life. They later explained to me that somehow there had been a miscommunication between the Health Center and Residential Life, and I was supposed to have been called on Saturday for release and emailed about how to leave. I asked where the miscommunication could have occurred. It was unknown how things got to that point. While Residential Life seemed genuinely apologetic, clear communication between the Health Center and Residential Life in the future is paramount.
Fortunately, the cases at Bryn Mawr College have remained low, a reflection of the abundant caution of the student body. Continuing procedures like this, however—with the false pretense presented to students and faculty that the administration has the situation completely under control will ensure the opposite. With the next in-person semester approaching, I hope that my experience can serve as feedback for the administration. Here are my requests: transparency around the move-in and move-out procedure, standardized knowledge at the Health Center on college-specific guidelines, clear communication between the Health Center and Residential Life. And please, before you come back to campus, quarantine for two weeks. You do not want to end up like me, stuck in Radnor looking longingly out upon the free world. Plus, a Zoom background of Rad’s common room is not cute.
Image credit: Markus Spiske, Pexels
