Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor
Multiple universities throughout the nation in high-populated areas are closing their doors for the remainder of the term and switching to online classes to counter COVID-19. As of March 10, Oregon has 14 cases of COVID-19 — or the coronavirus as it is more widely known — and no deaths. However, that’s a drastic change from just a month ago when experts suggested that Oregon would remain unaffected, and allegedly, Western faculty have been tasked with planning up to two weeks of online classes for spring term should the outbreak worsen after spring break.
President Rex Fuller and the Director of the Student Health and Counseling Center, Beth Scroggins, have both taken it upon themselves to re-address the issue and the campus as a whole. Scroggins’ email, sent campus-wide on March 4, suggests that students who suspect they have symptoms similar to COVID-19 should not risk entering a public facility and instead call local health departments first. A campus-wide email sent by President Fuller on March 9 stated that Western is following the advice of health authorities and remaining open.
“WOU is operating normally until further notice, and we will provide additional information as conditions warrant. We have increased cleaning of common spaces such as classrooms, computer labs and residence halls,” Fuller said.
Students may have noticed that one of the campus spaces that has changed to accommodate these precautions is Valsetz Dining Hall.
Albert Worotikan, the Director of Campus Dining, said that Valsetz is responsible for serving approximately 1,500 students a day and, that after a meeting with Housing last Monday, March 2, he “doesn’t take this lightly.”
“If someone is sick and we’re not prepared for it, we’re going to pay for it,” said Worotikan.
Some of the necessary precautions taken include moving the salad bar and breakfast area behind the line, so that students now have to be served instead of serving themselves — even for utensils. Fruits and baked goods are now wrapped, and sanitizer stations are readily available throughout the establishment.
“We found those areas most concerning as areas that could be cross-contaminated,” said Worotikan.
Despite this, Worotikan said that he has seen a significant decline in student use of the dining hall. He wants students to understand that “we have the safest place for students to come and eat.”
In fact, a health inspector allegedly came to Western and reported that they were taking excellent precautions.
Worotikan said that he has observed a rising level of student anxiety, with students even going so far as to take pictures of the sanitizing stations. But, Worotikan suggested, “this is human nature,” and added that he “would rather see students act like that than reacting if there were an outbreak and blaming us.”
Regardless, as President Fuller reminded campus on March 2, “WOU is an inclusive community with members from all over the world, and we have members who travel all over the world. With this in mind, please remember that the risk of coronavirus is not connected with race, ethnicity or nationality.”
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Photo by Sage Kiernan-Sherrow
