Students react to CMU COVID-19 cases over Labor Day weekend
Over Labor Day weekend, zero cases were reported by Central Michigan University, according to the Fired Up for Fall webpage. As of Sept. 10, the university added 7 cases to the count.
The week prior, CMU reported 44 new cases between Aug. 31 and Sept. 6.
As students returned to campus after a long weekend, most were hopeful the cases are declining. Many students declined an interview. Some said they didn’t have an opinion on the case count, others said they are employed by the university and wouldn’t feel comfortable.
Brighton sophomore Brian Rakoczy, a student employee, said his job and close friends contribute to his trust in campus operations, but he is worried about the behavior of the people he doesn't know.
“I do think we’re probably going to see a small uptick after Labor Day, but I don’t think it’s nearly going to be as big as it was when people were returning to campus for the first time,” he said.
Rakoczy said it helps to see the back end of operations and how safety protocols unfold for the CMU community.
As of Sept. 10, there is 193 total cases in the CMU community. Hillsdale freshman Lindsay Sheffer said the number seems accurate since precautions are more strict and being taken seriously.
"As restrictions have been put in place and time has progressed, there are less and less people out there," Sheffer said. "When they are, they are standing six feet apart and more so being cautious than they were in the beginning."
Petoskey senior Natalie Koeller said the COVID-19 precautions have kept the case count on campus low and most cases seem to be coming from off-campus parties.
“As far as on campus, I feel pretty safe, everybody has to wear a mask. There's not a choice,” she said. “Considering that we are in a global pandemic, I feel OK.”
Koeller thinks the university should provide students with more information when it comes to cases. She said, in Petoskey, the local health department would release a list of potential exposure sites, so she expected the same when she returned to campus.
Royal Oak junior Giselle Saab agrees. She said if the university provided more information about symptomatic students on campus, she’d feel more confident in the university. She is taking the reported numbers with "a grain of salt," she said.
“To be honest, I’m sometimes skeptical of numbers,” Saab said. “One thing I always wonder is, 'when they test people are they testing to see if they had it or if they have it?"
