HACC student Christian Rutkowski has one major regret from the COVID-19 catastrophe – that his grandparents didn’t live in Pennsylvania. If they had lived here instead of in Florida, he thinks they may have survived the pandemic.
Students at Central Pennsylvania area colleges and universities have been more responsible than many might have expected during this pandemic. While we saw photos of raucous partying on Florida beaches just as the virus was spreading death, a good many students in Central Pennsylvania were doing just the opposite -- hunkering down and trying to stay safe.
College presidents and students discuss the impact of COVID-19 on college campuses.
Like Rutkowski, they followed the state’s guidance to wear masks and stay six feet apart from friends on campus. And they worried about loved ones in places like Florida, where Rutkowski says his grandparents didn’t get the guidance they needed to stay alive.
Rutkowski and other college students in our region shared their stories of coping with COVID-19 on the second of a three-part series on “Kids & COVID,” looking at “COVID on Campus” and its impact on students, faculty and families.
Face-to-face classes at York College of Pennsylvania are being asked to end at 4:15 p.m. Friday, March 13.
Presidents James MacLaren of Lebanon Valley College and Pamela Gunter-Smith of York College of Pennsylvania joined the discussion and praised students on their campuses who followed the rules for masks and social distancing. Their jobs to protect both faculty and students would have been made far more difficult if students had not cooperated.
Gunter-Smith said 95 percent of her students complied with the rules put in place on the York College campus. And MacLaren said most students at Lebanon Valley College were like Ariana Genna, smart enough to realize their lives would never return to normal if they didn’t cooperate to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Genna, a student a LVC and a Resident Assistant in campus dormitories, said it was clear early on that her friends were worried – for their own safety, for their parents and for their communities. Sure they were some who resisted and ignored the rules, but by and large, most didn’t.
Genna, Rutkowsky and Jennifer Dunn, another HACC adult student, said most of their friends and colleagues took the science seriously. And they were grateful for the guidance coming from Gov. Tom Wolf and former Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.
They wanted to survive the pandemic, and they wanted to make sure they didn’t spread it to their more vulnerable parents.
David Saunders, the director of the state health department's office of health equity, speaks on April 22, 2021 outside See Right Pharmacy in Harrisburg, Pa. The state plans to work with pharmacies including See Right to reach people in minority communities and overcome COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
The state’s statistics bear that out. David Saunders, Director, Office of Health Equity for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the pandemic did not overwhelm college campuses, as could have happened if there had been the same divisions among students as was so evident among legislators at the state capitol.
But for those young people who think they are invincible, Saunders points out as of mid-May, there were more than 133,000 young people in the state who contracted COVID-19, with 815 hospitalizations. Twenty-five of them died. The percentage of deaths are admittedly small for young people with serious complications from the virus but tell that to the families grieving lives cut short. And the problem is, doctors are still not confident in predicting who will breeze through COVID-19 and who will die.
That’s why Saunders and the college presidents are strongly encouraging students to get vaccinated. The good news in Central Pennsylvania is that many students don’t need much encouragement. They’re tired of missing out on parties, sporting events and just hanging out with friends. They want COVID-19 to end. And if the science says that means getting one or two shots in the arm, they’re willing to get it done.
More than 66 percent of Pennsylvanians have been vaccinated at least once, but we need at least 70 percent of our population vaccinated. Many college students may have received the first dose of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines on college campuses, but there is concern many students may forgo the second dose once they leave this spring. That would be a mistake.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf visits the new drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site at Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg, Pa., Mar. 30, 2021. Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com
We need to continue to encourage young Pennsylvanians to act responsibly. . . to think critically and follow the science to protect themselves and those they love.
COVID has cause major upheavals on college campuses, but students in our region have not been the super spreaders they were in places like Florida. For that we thank college presidents like MacLaren and Gunter-Smith, who provided solid leadership in a time of crisis. And most of all, we thank students like Genna, Rutkowsky and Dunn, whose smart decisions protected us all.
Quality local journalism has never been more important. You deserve the best. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.