Why College Students Are One Of The Most Affected Groups By COVID-19 Outbreak
In the last 48 hours, we have seen numerous reactions to just about all sports being canceled due to the CoronaVirus pandemic. We have heard from coaches, athletes, media, and some fans, but one group we have not heard from is the general students of the universities affected.
Some people may not think that the students are necessarily affected in a major way but I am here to tell you why they are. Not only have collegiate sports been put on hold or canceled but so have the colleges themselves.
Nearly every major university across the country has already decided to move classes to online instruction for 2-3 weeks and some have even moved to online instruction for the remainder of the semester which ends in early May.
Oklahoma State falls into the 2-3 week category, with students returning to campus April 6th.
Students were advised to return to their homes and to no longer stay in the dorms or student housing so basically, college campuses will look like ghost towns in the middle of a time that normally has campuses booming.
What is the reason campuses are booming this time of year? Well… it’s sports.
In the fall months, everyone's attention is on football, which is every Saturday, which obviously has campus busy but during the week, campus is fairly quiet and normal with not much happening.
The spring months however are very different for campus life. In any given week, you can have mens and womens basketball games, baseball, softball, wrestling, along with spring football.
Students attend every single one of these, with most drawing large numbers. This is a way for students to escape the stress that comes with school but also a way for them to show school spirit and cheer on their sports teams.
One of the best times of the year on a college campus is March-April with conference basketball tournaments and March Madness taking place. In addition to that for Oklahoma State, the opening of the newly built O’Brate stadium was scheduled along with the national championships for wrestling, which OSU had numerous athletes in as always. Students look forward to these games, tournaments, and championships as they bring excitement, anticipation, and distraction.
Now, none of these will happen. For the next few weeks, not only will students not be allowed at their campuses or normal classes, but they also are without any of their sports teams or athletes they would normally cheer for. In a way, nothing about their college life is the same right now.
“You know it’s really weird for me, I obviously wasn't expecting to be at home for three weeks but it is what it is”, said OSU freshman and friend of mine, Vince Nolte. “I am also a sports media major so sports are a big part of my life and apparently now there is no sports at any level so I’m really confused on what I’m gonna do for the next few weeks.”
Another OSU student, Daniel Smolenski added “Well, I was actually supposed to be working on campus over break for baseball and I was also going to be announcing the national championship for tennis here [Stillwater] next week but that will no longer be happening. It’s tough for me because I live in New England so I have to find a flight from DFW within the next few days to get home because they are advising us to not stay on campus.”
Daniel brings up a good point too, not only do students cheer at these games, but they work at them too. These students are out of a job for an unpredictable amount of time, affecting some of their lives.
For myself personally, I am back home in Dallas now with my family and I obviously still have some content to write about, but I was looking forward to seeing what kind of run the basketball team made in the Big 12 tournament. I was also looking forward to watching baseball and softball with conference play beginning soon. None of will get to see O’Brate stadium open for just about an entire calendar year. I won’t be able to watch or cover spring ball which bums me out to my core.
I know sports are not important in the scope of national health crises but when you think about it, sports are usually the force that drives America together in times of hardship. But that is not available to us right now but hopefully it is soon.
If you know a college student or have a child in college, try to help them out, some are out of jobs right now and their life is spiraling in a sense. If you know a student athlete, reach out to them, some of them have had their dreams and hopes shattered and some have even had their careers ended.
I hope everyone and their families stay safe and healthy!
