Home for the Holidays

This is an editorial article, and therefore, represents the opinions of the writer.

During COVID-19, most students and faculty question how they can effectively celebrate upcoming major holidays that require large gatherings for fellowship and celebration.

College students should be able to visit loved ones during the holidays. However, when doing so, students should consider safety precautions, such as getting tested for COVID-19 before and after reaching their destination to ensure they are not a carrier and are not potentially exposing others.

Students need to see family and friends while also getting a break from school
for at least a month. Additionally, parents should consider choosing the safest way for their kids to return home, such as driving, instead of flying, or even taking a train (while also considering going into quarantine upon arrival).

Scientists are not explicitly telling people to cancel holiday plans; instead, they encourage people to think of alternative ways to celebrate togetherness. Here are some questions to raise regarding social gathering according to an NPR article, “Coronavirus Maps: How Severe Is Your State’s Outbreak?: “what if you and friends or family want to go to a lounge or dinner at a restaurant – what if you catch COVID-19? What if someone in that group already has it and doesn’t know.”

I am using safety precautions to limit exposure and also increasing testing before the holidays. I am driving home both ways and will be getting tested before, while, and after I’m there. Some universities require students not to return to campus for a minimum of two weeks to comply with the 14-day quarantine that many states have adopted. Also, solutions include possibly the parent visiting their child for the holiday.