ALYSSA BUMP
Life & Arts Editor
“Positive”
A one-word Snapchat. In my head I wondered, “Positive? What’s that even supposed to mean?”
I would say that is a pretty inconsiderate way of telling someone that you have COVID-19, but maybe that’s just my personal opinion.
I sit in my dorm room and stare blankly at the wall.
I start to feel heat rushing to my head. I am still breathing, but I can’t get enough air into my lungs.
Am I already sick or am I just panicking?
After cases started doubling, I took it upon myself to go to WellNow Urgent Care in Dunkirk to be tested.
I was in contact with the composer of the one-word message the day before I got tested.
I am overreacting. After all, I tested negative.
Since I got tested after being in contact and it still came back as negative, that means I’m fine, right?
Well, apparently not.
As most people do these days, I resorted to Google to answer my questions.
I typed in, “Are COVID-19 tests reliable?” and clicked enter.
To my dismay, I found that Harvard Medical School’s website said, “If you are tested on the day you were infected, your test result is almost guaranteed to come back negative, because there are not yet enough viral particles in your nose or saliva to detect.”
My heart sank. I thought that since I was negative, I was fine.
Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I had gone to work thinking I was negative, and now I am finding out that my test results are useless.
So I got tested again, and I was told one word once again — positive.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.
I hate being scared, but I hate admitting when I’m scared even more.
For me, the illness itself is the easy part.
But I am isolated by myself, and all there is to do is think.
I can’t help but think this college got one over on me.
I stay up at night wondering who I could’ve infected, and then I wonder who they infected.
The chain reaction goes on and on.
The illness isn’t bad for me, but it could potentially kill someone else.
I never wanted to come back to Fredonia for in-person learning.
Over the summer, I emailed my advisor and said, “I was hoping to move in and be back on campus, but I feel as though the potential dangers outweigh the in-person learning.”
I was hoping that I could have an entirely online schedule, but my requests were denied.
They told me it would be impossible for me to go online.
But now I sit in my house, quarantined with my father, and I wonder, “Impossible? I’m doing online right now.”
So how impossible was it actually?
And why did it take me getting COVID-19 for me to be able to take my classes online?
They don’t care about my well being; they care about my money.
It costs $3,825 to live on campus per semester.
My meal plan costs $2,450 per semester, and that’s the cheapest one available.
If I had gotten my way and lived at home this semester, the college would have lost $6,275 from me alone.
At the end of the day, Fredonia is an institution that needs to make money, and they used me to do so.
Now I have COVID-19 and I am paying thousands for a dorm I’m no longer allowed to live in.
When I was first notified that I needed to quarantine due to being in contact with a positive case, the Health Department said that the school would be in contact with me to transfer me to the quarantine building.
After hours of waiting with no call or email, I took it upon myself to go home so I would not risk the health of the other residents in my building.
I packed my bags, and drove almost two hours to quarantine safely at my house.
I never ended up being contacted by the school about where or if I was quarantining.
After self-quarantining for six days, I ended up receiving the positive test results.
After receiving said results, I notified the school immediately by calling the Student Health Center. They then called me later that day to ask additional questions about my symptoms.
About two days later, Enrollment & Student Services emailed me.
They said, “Our office was contacted by a faculty member who indicated you were unable to attend classes due to quarantine. Are you in contact with the SUNY Fredonia Health Center?”
So how does the school still act as though they are not informed when I have gone out of my way to let them know that I am positive and quarantining?
I have done everything right, but Fredonia still continues to fall short in the aid they provide.
I washed my hands repeatedly, used hand sanitizer whenever I was out and wore a mask everywhere I went on campus — not the defective #FREDstrong masks either.
It may seem like Fredonia is only failing me through this process, but this failure has undeniable consequences that need to be noted.
Because Fredonia failed to support me through quarantining on campus, which then forced me to go home, my dad will probably get COVID-19, too.
My dad is 52 years old.
COVID-19 can put a much larger toll on him than it has on me.
Not only is he risking his well being because of Fredonia’s handling of my case, but also his job.
He will now have to quarantine for two weeks as well, meaning he will not be able to go to work.
Will my family be able to make ends meet this month?
As for my mother, she has high blood pressure and severe asthma, meaning she is high-risk.
She is currently living with my grandparents because it is too dangerous for her to be near me.
It pains me to know that I have a virus that could cause her irreparable damage.
What if she somehow contracts it?
In a time like this, I wish I could have her by my side to get me through this. But doing this alone is something I have gotten used to.
I would say I am disappointed in Fredonia, but that would be an understatement.
They have shown me that #FREDstrong is a ploy. It is nothing more than an illusion that I am safe and cared for.
My advisor told me I’d get through this experience.
I am sure I will, too. But the fact of the matter is I shouldn’t have to.