As students return to campus and in-person instruction, one thing that has followed is the return of parties. Parties are a hotspot for the transmission of COVID-19 and many students believe it is unfair to those attending in-person classes who don’t want their learning to be compromised. 

Any other time, students should have the opportunity to have fun and enjoy parties. It’s a good environment to make friends and enjoy the college experience.  

However, this isn’t like any other year. Students coming back from a year under lockdown and are now dealing with the threat of the Delta variant. Students are either coming back to campus or finally getting to have a college experience. This return is being threatened by poor decisions from students.

Stephanie Bautista, a fourth year student at Sonoma State, states, “If they really want to have a party it should take place outside where people can be 6 feet apart and even wear masks. People can party safely but I think everyone is tired of not being able to do most things ‘normally’ because of  COVID.”

When asked about SSU’s plan to combat COVID on campus, she stated, “The thing that concerns me is that people don’t really need to have a cleared badge to come on campus because no one checks it.” 

It’s understandable that students would want a semblance of normalcy. It’s been a difficult year of online classes and being at home with no chance to meet other people in person.

Another fourth year student who wanted to remain anonymous said, “I believe there have been parties, but I couldn’t say if there have been precautions. It’s pretty selfish sometimes, especially if people aren’t taking precautions.” 

Sonoma State isn’t the only campus dealing with COVID and parties. In a news report by NBC 7 San Diego, San Diego State University “reached a critical point last fall when the gatherings contributed to a COVID-19 outbreak on campus. SDSU quarantined its residential students and had to temporarily shut down all in-person classes.”

According to the Press Democrat, there have been nine new deaths over the month of August due to the Coronavirus. Dr. Sundari Mase, the county’s health officer said that, “many of the deaths among unvaccinated residents are among a much younger population than at previous periods in the pandemic.”

A safer way for students to have fun during this time would be to have these events in an open space where social distancing can be enforced. Doing so would allow for the safety not only of students but of the whole Rohnert Park community. 

Students being more mindful about their activities will prevent classes from being suspended and lower the transmission rate among campus. After all the efforts made to get students back on campus, it would be sad to see it all go to waste for the sake of a few parties.