I can't be the only one on edge about returning to campus this fall with the rising numbers of COVID-19. In the past semesters, my professors have always been incredibly strict on their attendance policy. How will attendance be treated in the fall when everyone returns?

There is a bit of anxiety looming over me concerning this topic. OSU has already announced that dead week and finals week will be online after Thanksgiving break, which gave me some relief. However, I hope professors take into account that some of us are worried about safety during the rest of the semester. With the packed class schedules and the traffic between classrooms (I'm looking at you Classroom Building), it feels like there won't be time to sanitize properly.

My biggest concern is that not everyone will take this seriously. I went to Walmart today and saw 3 out of 20 people wearing masks. It concerns me that some students might not be as cautious, even if there are rules in place. With all the big campus events and people going out on the Strip, I hope this doesn't escalate the problem even more. These are just a few factors of returning to campus that worry me.

I'd be willing to bet that there are some people retorting, "If you feel so unsafe, why don't you take online classes then?" and my answer is simply that not everyone has that option. None of my required classes are offered online this fall. It would be nice if they were though. Maybe professors can make their own judgment and limit interaction by making more lessons accessible online for those who don't feel comfortable coming to class. There are kinks to work out with this idea and I don't have a solid answer to these problems, but I just had to voice these concerns in case someone else was feeling it too. Brainstorming is the first step in problem solving!

My hope is that Oklahoma State University takes this fear into consideration for the fall, as I've discussed this with other students who feel anxiety coming back to campus as well. We all need a bit of reassurance on this and I know my school will come through and take the precautions needed to stay "America's Healthiest Campus", since they went so far as to patent the phrase.

Be safe and go pokes!