Editorial, Opinion

STAFF EDIT: Whine flu

As universities around the nation ready themselves for a possible rise in H1N1 virus outbreaks on campus, members of college communities must make the contentious decision of where to draw the line between preparedness and panic. In an effort to raise awareness, Boston University’s Student Health Services issued an informative email in August to all students, outlining outbreak procedures and tips to stay healthy. But the email was ill-received, most students simply casting it off as unimportant and overly dramatic.

The media has hit peaks and valleys regarding swine flu, sometimes making it out to be a monster and other times calling it simply another seasonal virus that will come and go along with the usual common colds and stomach bugs. And while this vacillation can be confusing to worried citizens, truthfully, it’s too soon to tell what effect the swine flu will have on close-knit communities like college campuses. Establishing a reasonable containment and treatment protocol in the event of widespread infection is a necessary responsibility on behalf of university administration. Advertising healthy habits like hand washing, and spreading the word about October’s release of the H1N1 vaccine are steps any levelheaded official would make, especially considering a population as closely contained as Boston University.

But students are right to take the warnings casually. Imagine the effect upon the academic dynamics of BU’s campus if students started staying in bed and missing class every time they came down with a cold, or the strain on hospitals if people began going to the emergency room with every slightly flu-like symptom. In no case ‘- even in ones of confirmed public health emergencies ‘- is relenting to panic a wise option. Students will do well to heed the warnings issued by Student Health Services, but beyond that, they and their administration should keep in mind that H1N1 is a possible threat, one that has thus far not been much more serious than other common annual flu strains.

A chaotic community is an unhealthy one, and so long as students are informed that their administration does in fact have a legitimate plan in the event of an emergency, and as long as regular healthy habits are maintained, life should continue to be business as usual on campus. Inducing fear won’t yield a desirable reaction from the student body, and will only exacerbate the panic already feverishly escalating worldwide regarding this mysterious case of the flu.

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