Are You At Risk?
By Jeannie Eom ’22
For many students, Exeter is a second home. A place with missed friends and beloved faculty, the home of that community so many of us would use to define the “Exeter experience.” Exonians flew in (and will presumably fly in) from all corners of the world for many reasons, despite virtual classes. And while every individual is directed by their own circumstances, the yearn for community during an otherwise humdrum quarantine summer is probably a big reason why.
The news of the first positive COVID case on campus fills me with dread, but not surprise. By nature, a residential institution with students from more than thirty foreign countries will obviously pose a challenge for those trying to contain the virus (much love to Dr. Lilly and the Health Services team). So long as everyone follows the strict safety measures set to the beau ideal, the hazard can stay relatively low. Maintaining a thousand teenagers within strict lines and rules is quite an extraordinary feat. By the same token, some will unfortunately have to conclude the term at home, hoping to come back in January to see their friends again. We are on a tightrope, it seems—and the path ahead looks difficult.
What does our tightrope look like? Let’s imagine all of the hundreds of students on campus walking on the same rope. We are in it together, after all. While all students are treading on one rope, if everyone were to walk with high caution and a degree of balance, this community could be setting an exemplary precedent during the pandemic. It simply takes one person, however, to double, triple, or quadruple the number of infections in a matter of days, a detriment to not only the closed community around us, but to the town of Exeter. Without proper caution, many of us could fall off that tightrope and bring the town of Exeter with us. It is a momentous and exigent factor in operating school in this particular setting.
Exeter’s population density is more than 1200% higher than that of New Hampshire, which also happens to be greater than the national average. While Exeter may not be as compact as what we typically deem to be “dense,” most numbers and statistics don’t quite matter once the spread of the virus begins. However, what is not out the window is the fact that Exeter residents are on average 45, with a large concentration in their 60s to 80s. Now, the influence this disease could have on teenage students is often a matter of numbers, less than of life. Even as this virus spreads to more and more young people, the elderly remain the most at-risk demographic. And, demographically, this may make an outbreak in Exeter somewhat worse than in other places. Now, consider that 50% of these people have families with minors. With a virus that does not discriminate (it takes even the quintessential tough dude), our coming back must scare a lot of people, and any argument that Exonians fuel economic activity feels not quite right in comparison.
As in all public health crisis cases, there is not an ubiquitous set of guidelines that will satisfy everyone. Exonians travel onto campus for varying reasons, and these discussions are, in many cases, not up for discussion. There are a host of contributing factors that affect the decision to depart home, and it is near impossible to adhere to everyone’s desired standard for reopening the Academy. But while we’re here, it’s important that we all walk that tightrope together carefully.