If there is one thing that can mess up a college student’s life this time of year, it’s coming down with the flu. While influenza outbreaks have diminished over the course of history due to aggressive vaccination programs, this virus is still something students should be wary of.
February is said to be a month where the flu peaks in South Carolina. Weather fluctuations and sinus infections abound makes staying healthy even more difficult, but everyone has a responsibility to maintain his or her health. Furthermore, the university should take simple actions to help students prevent the spread of this virus. There are several actions to be taken which would rectify this issue.
The heavy emphasis on keeping the outside grounds around campus maintained seems to have detracted from the quality of indoor facilities. For students who have evening classes, it is not uncommon to find bathrooms with overflowed toilets and sinks with no hot water or no paper towels. At this time of day, the trash is overflowing onto the floor and all over the counters and into the sinks. These issues increase the risk of spreading many viruses and bacteria.
The custodial staff cannot possibly keep up with all of the bathrooms around campus given the budget cuts they have experienced. More funding should be placed in this department in order to preserve student health. One easy remedy for the paper towel issue is to place automatic dryers in each bathroom. With the push to be environmentally friendly around campus, this should have been done anyway. Additionally, soap and hot water are necessities for hand hygiene. There is much talk by the administration of “rising costs” every year, which they say mandates a tuition raise. If health insurance and related costs are such a lavish expenditure, it would seem like common sense to encourage disease prevention. Preventing the spread of disease is almost always more-cost effective and efficient than treating disease. Given the university president’s background in epidemiology and public health, I feel certain he recognizes these issues need attention. To me, this qualifies as a public health issue.
Another idea to combat the spread of disease is providing hangers in all bathroom stalls for book bag placement. I have seen numerous backpacks set on dirty floors which have trash and water on them. Perhaps the biology lab would like to culture the bottom of these bags. It would be very interesting and insightful to observe the cultures grown. It may also inspire greater action to improve the quality of our bathrooms. Furthermore, alcohol-based hand sanitizer could be available around campus to combat these issues. The dispensers available at the gym, a prime area of infection, should be refilled regularly. Finally, students often don’t wipe down the equipment as is recommended. It would be nice if the gym staff walked around and enforced this.
If this issue pertained to athletics, it would have already been rectified. I’ve been at this school six years, and this public health issue has never been addressed to my knowledge and it certainly has not been resolved. We can’t have soap and hot water, but we have sure have a great athletics department and beautiful grounds.