Dear fellow peers,
It's not fair for you to assume those of us returning to on campus living this year do not care about the safety of others. Many of us do care. The truth is not every student has the privilege to learn safely at home. Many LGBTQ students, like myself, have to hide in the closet at home, if outed we risk homelessness. During this pandemic we can't afford to even think of taking that risk.
International students are also at risk. Leaders in our government have been pushing to force international students to return home if all their classes are online, this means some students may have to wake at 2am to make up for time diffrences between their home country and the state their college is in. This had put pressure on universities to hold in-person and/or hybrid courses which often means living on campus.
Students with certain learning disabilities may need the support and structure of an in-person class. Taking a semester off puts them at risk of dropping out completely.
And some students may live in a hostile environment that impedes on their education while at home. Being on campus is their escape from that.
The list can go on and on. We can never know every persons reason for returning to campus. There will be those going because they want to party and act out. But there are those of us who can't afford to do a semester while living at home. Think twice before you judge someone for returning to campus this fall. And if you hear someone talk about how they are ready ti part and "live it up in college" try to kindly explain to them that not everyone can afford to be sent back home because of a COVID outbreak at a party. Some of the students you see going to college this fall may not have a place to go if campus is to shut down again. Think about that.
That's all I have to say.
