Campus COVID Spike Shakes Up Travel Plans

By Amelia Robinson

If there were ever a motto for this semester, it would probably be  “expect the unexpected.” The unpredictability of being a college student during a global pandemic was amplified in the past few weeks by a COVID cluster in Greek life that pulled the university into a Code Yellow just as in-person classes were finishing up for the semester. Thanksgiving and Winter Break plans that were already complicated, and sometimes stressful, incurred another layer of complication as some students tested positive or were contact-traced and sent to the Statler to quarantine. Epidemiologists have warned that, in general, the dispersion of college students from campus to their homes for the holiday season may well heighten the risk of COVID-19 spreading to parents and families. But, the recent outbreak caused many students to return home even sooner than planned. Every student has had to make a plan for their travel, testing, and quarantine in order to return home safely, resulting in a wide range of departure dates, transportation choices, and levels of COVID safety precaution taken. 

Just among my circle of friends, who are all sophomores living in sorority housing, approaches to Winter Break travel differed significantly. Upon hearing the news of the COVID outbreak, Gabby and Tanya, from New Jersey and California, respectively, both decided to leave campus earlier than they had planned. Gabby felt lucky that her home’s proximity to campus allowed her the flexibility to leave when she felt the time was right, acknowledging that it was more difficult for others. She added that some of her other friends had concerns about potential quarantine requirements causing them to miss their flights. 

Tanya booked a last-minute flight back to her home in California, ten days earlier than her previously intended departure date. Tanya noted that the news of rising cases on campus had a palpable effect on the mood of her friends, the sorority house, and campus in general – making things feel lonelier, and more anxious and stressful overall. In light of this, which came with the heightened risk of contracting COVID that many students felt, and her desire to get home and see family, Tanya left Cornell before the Semi-Finals period. After flying cross-country, which Tanya felt was stressful but not too scary, she quarantined in her room at home until she received two negative COVID tests.

In contrast, Ash, whose flight was booked for a few days before Thanksgiving, decided to stick with her original plan despite the COVID outbreak. When some of her friends left campus early, she felt sad seeing them go, but never seriously considered leaving early. She felt safer from COVID on campus than at home due to Cornell’s well-run testing program, and thought that it would be too difficult to change her flight so quickly. Ash felt somewhat nervous about flying, given the fact that she had to go through multiple airports and flights to reach her home in Atlanta, Georgia. Since she was tested right before leaving campus, she probably will not elect to self-quarantine at home. Kaleigh also did not change her travel plans, waiting to drive back to Connecticut until after her last semi-final, as planned. She did not feel too worried by the COVID outbreak, and most likely will not choose to quarantine upon arrival at home. 

Lia, who is from the D.C. area, felt somewhat more concerned about the rise in cases, both at Cornell and nationally. During the early part of the Cornell outbreak, she felt stressed about the situation and considered leaving; but once the dust settled, due to Cornell’s contact-tracing policy, she felt happy to have made the choice to stay on campus. Lia plans to complete a 7-day quarantine at her home before coming into close contact with her parents. 

This variety of perspectives and approaches on the topic of Thanksgiving and Winter Break travel, in the context of a worsening pandemic and an on-campus COVID outbreak after a largely successful in-person semester at Cornell, demonstrates the wide variety of factors students must consider when making holiday plans. There is no perfect rule book that will determine what course of action is right for each student, and there are always unforeseen complications and questions. But, the ultimate goal is to get everyone back to their families as safely as possible, so that we can all enjoy some hard-earned time off, as happy and unstressed as possible. 

Happy holidays and have a healthy, restful, and fun Winter Break from all of us at Slope Media!