Documenting the NIU Experience to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Answers to questionnaire submitted anonymously April 11, 2022

Item

Title

Answers to questionnaire submitted anonymously April 11, 2022

When and how did you become aware of the pandemic? What were your initial thoughts? Did your response change over time?

I remember the moment when the pandemic first settled in. We were on spring break, and it kept getting extended. I had practice for an NIU Athletics team on Friday. On the news podcast I listen to in the morning, they announced all NCAA sports were cancelled for this season. I sat down. We were done. Everything I trained for the last year meant nothing now. I felt lost and disappointed. Our entire lives were moved online. It was weird in the beginning, like life didn't matter anymore. There was a constant silence. I felt like something really wrong had come over the world. The media used fear constantly with rising death and infection rates. Wearing masks in public spaces. Over time, I started to lose faith in what the media was portraying to the citizens. My mother works in specimen processing at a well-known hospital. She would come home from work telling us about the huge wave of COVID tests she had to process in addition to regular specimen. But she said most of them were negative. Her hospital had announcements on how many positive covid cases they dealt with. At the peak of the pandemic her hospital had about 200 covid cases. She was the first in my family to get vaccinated. She is immunocompromised due to a hereditary disease and the medication she takes. Whenever I would go home, I would disinfect everything I touched and make sure that she doesn't get sick. But when the second wave came around, we were nervous again. What was weird, was that the news stopped reporting deaths, only infection cases. When all media outlets claimed that the amount of cases were as high as when the pandemic started, it felt like a lie. My mother would come home saying the hospital would have less than 10 cases, usually around 5 while the media told us otherwise. I believe the pandemic is to be taken seriously among those who are at risk. Since the pandemic started, I've started washing my hands more frequently and constantly using hand sanitizer. Being distant when needed and taking precautions. But I do not understand why I would need to be vaccinated to attend school if I was wearing a mask every day and being as clean as I could. The vaccine is meant to protect ME, to protect individuals. I got covid twice since the pandemic and built immunities and felt fine recovering both times. My doctor at my last physical told me naturally getting covid and dealing with it helps to build my immune system just the same as getting the vaccine. With my religion, I take vaccines and natural medicine seriously to a reasonable extent. I felt offended when I was covid positive and had to stay home from classes, miss an exam, while I was ASYMPTOMATIC feeling fine. While my friend who also got covid had symptoms and still went to class without missing a day just because he had the vaccine. While asymptomatic, I had a very important day in one of my accounting classes before an exam. I took a shower, washed my hands, wore 2 masks, and went to my lecture. Sitting in the far back of my class away from all other students. I had to fill out a survey for athletics and mentioned that I attended class, that I had no symptoms. Within 4 hours I received a call from my coach yelling at me for having gone to class. I explained that I took all the precautions, and that I really needed to attend this lecture as my teacher said "this is the one class this semester you need to attend" as it walked through an entire project and exam prep. She did not even try to understand. I understood there was a pandemic going on. But at the time most of the kids in that classroom were NOT getting tested twice a week like I was. As this was before NIU put in the mandatory testing, only the mask mandate. My coach did not show the slightest bit of understanding for my desire to persevere through my education, since classes weren't offered online for that section. The athletics department would constantly pressure me to get the vaccine, even though it goes against my religious beliefs and make me feel gross for not having it. Throughout this pandemic, the way NIU, the athletic faculty, and some teachers have treated me has been degrading. I was bittersweet to leave NIU Athletics. I gave up a sport that I have loved my whole life because I could not mentally handle another year of being treated like I am less than my teammates for not being vaccinated and amongst other factors which are not related to covid. I have gotten covid tested twice a week since fall of 2020, to remain compliant with NIU, NIU Athletics, and to make sure that I am safe for my parents. But I was still treated like I was disgusting because I was not vaccinated. While there were hundreds of students not testing at all, passing the variants never getting tested because they were vaccinated. If I had the finances, I would have transferred schools. I would have brought up my complaints earlier. But with only a year left to finish my degree I did not want to risk anything that would prevent me from being the first person in my family of immigrants to attend college and graduate. My family back in Poland calls me every Sunday, to talk about my life updates and my education. They come from a small town and root for me every day. I want to make them proud. But continuing my education at NIU for the last 2 years since the start of the pandemic was a mistake. The quality of education within the business department was not what I was promised coming in as a freshman. The Covid pandemic made me feel like my teachers did not care anymore. Some not having office hours at all, only responding by email, offering little help. It leaves me to wonder if Covid was to blame, or the method of teaching. In closing, I am in my final semester of classes and internship. I am thankful for the opportunities life has given me. NIU has had some great resources which I have taken advantage over the years. I apologize if this note came off strong, this is the first time I was able to voice my opinion about NIU. This is a great, cost-effective school with a wide variety of programs and a diverse student body. When I go to guest speaker panels at my high school once a year, I always promote NIU and its business program without a moment of hesitation. My disappointment lies with a handful of faculty members not the school itself. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope NIU improves it means of delivering education, upholds its staff to higher expectations, and continues to have accessible mental health help for those who need it. Have a wonderful day :)

Affiliation

Student

Year in School

Senior

Major

Accountancy

Posting Consent

Yes

Date Created

April 11, 2022

Item sets

COVID Pandemic Questionnaire

This item was submitted on April 11, 2022 by [anonymous user] using the form “Questionnaire” on the site “Documenting the NIU Experience to the COVID-19 Pandemic”: https://digitalexhibits.lib.niu.edu/s/covid-pandemic