Common cold hits campus

By Alyssa Spagna, Staff Writer

Throughout the start of the fall semester, a contagious cold has broken out on the Post campus. This has sparked concerns over the infamous COVID-19 virus. While some students have tested positive for COVID-19, others are experiencing similar symptoms from a common cold. 

  “I started to feel sick right after I found out one of my sorority sisters tested positive for COVID-19,” junior musical theatre major Renée Hamilton said.

Some students in Hamilton’s sorority started feeling sick after attending school in-person for the first time in a while.

“I was nervous to go back to school in person because I knew it would spark COVID-19 cases on campus,” Hamilton said.

Her symptoms were eerily similar to that of COVID-19.

“I had a terrible cough, runny nose, scratchy throat, a constant headache,” Hamilton said. “Every symptom you could think of for COVID-19. I wasn’t the only person sick though, my entire suite caught the cold.”

Hamilton’s roommate, senior health sciences major Mikaela Strub, also caught this cold. The two were tested multiple times for COVID-19.

“Renee and I both got rapid and PCR tests,” Strub said. “Luckily, they both came back negative, which was a sigh of relief. But we still had an annoying cold to deal with.”

Missing classes due to illness has caused some students to fall behind in their classes.

“I was extremely worried that my teachers were going to give me a hard time about being on Zoom instead of in-person, “ sophomore art therapy major Olivia Glusic, who also caught the common cold, said. “I only missed three days, but I fell behind on my class work and needed to ask for extensions and extra help.”

With COVID-19 rules and regulations still up in the air, it is a time of uncertainty for most. The Biden administration recently released a vaccine mandate for all federal workers. For those who are unvaccinated, they must be tested for COVID-19 weekly.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea to have all workers be vaccinated or tested a lot,” Hamilton said. “I know it would make me feel a lot safer if everyone on campus who is unvaccinated got tested weekly.”

Hamilton was not the only one who felt this way.

“I think weekly testing for those excused from the vaccine would be so helpful for our campus community and it would really keep everyone safe,” Strub said.

Some students are concerned that there is not currently a nurse on campus.

“We absolutely need a nurse on this campus. Students are in need of medical attention daily, and especially with the pandemic, I believe a nurse and medical staff are absolutely a necessity for a college campus,” Glusic said. “Being sent to Urgent Care or NYIT does not cut it.”