Not here to advocate for either side, as I cannot pretend to know the answer, but would like to share a personal story. Today is the two month anniversary of losing my father to Covid. He was 71 but otherwise healthy. And while you can never know 100% who you contracted the virus from, we know he did not catch it at our family business (everyone was tested twice) or from our family (everyone tested negative for virus and antibodies), the only person we know for sure who had it was the captain for his (recreational) fishing boat. Who, you guessed it, caught it from his college student daughter. And this is with a “protect the vulnerable” mentality. My father did not go to a public place. It was his own sport fishing boat. He wore a mask when around the captain (who nobody knew he was about to be sick because he hadn’t been around anyone “sick”) but they didn’t think about potential aerosolized virus being in the cabin from when he was preoaring the boat (maskless as he was alone) leading up to my father’s arrival. And while it is sad that my father passed. It is also distressing to hear of the trauma his passing has caused for the captain and his daughter. She knows she likely played a role in someone’s passing AND her father is about to be unemployed (the boat will be sold, it’s not worth the overhead since none of us enjoy deep sea fishing the way dad did).
I tell this story because this isn’t just about college kids. It’s about the people they come in contact with, and the people those people come in contact with. But, at the same time, it is also about living a life worth living. I am am so grateful that less than a week before his initial hospitalization my father was able to do the very thing that brought him the most joy in his semi-retirement. (I don’t think he would choose to live another decade if he had to be holed up in a bunker) I have the same hope that college athletes will be able to partake in the activity that likely brings them that same kind of joy.
Just some food for thought.