Gabriela Enamorado/Opinion Director
Being back at FIU has been great. The campus is bustling with life again and things are starting to feel slightly better. Homecoming is something we missed out on last year, for obvious reasons. Many of us are excited to experience homecoming week for the first time since the pandemic hit, especially those who are on campus for the first time. But, large-scale events like the Homecoming game and Panthermonium are still risky and we should proceed with caution.
The pandemic isn’t over. I’m sure I sound like a broken record and that we are all tired of hearing this. But, this is just the facts. It’s understandable that we’re excited about these events. Homecoming week was one of the top things I was looking forward to when coming back to in-person classes. But, we need to be reminded that we go to school in Miami-Dade County. COVID-19 is still running rampant across the county and continues to rise. The daily average of confirmed cases is 689. I don’t exactly feel comfortable being in a big crowd for the game or Panthermonium when I know far too many fellow FIU Panthers that aren’t vaccinated or don’t even wear their mask.
I doubt that these events will get canceled, so I would say to just proceed with caution. I probably won’t be attending because I am still uncomfortable in large crowds and I encourage anyone else who feels the same to refrain from attending these events too. However, if you do decide to attend the events please stay masked up and social distance. It’s hard to social distance at things like concerts and football games, which is why we really shouldn’t be having them in the first place. The Delta Variant is running wild around Miami still. If you’re not vaccinated yet, I encourage you to get vaccinated. At the very least, get tested before attending these things. We should be thinking about the people around us and being mindful of their health. If you get the virus and it hits you hard, it’s not easy to recover from that. But, at this point, all I can do is hope that everyone attending will at least be taking every necessary precaution before going.
Of course, these are just thoughts and I cannot control what people do with their time. I have been disappointed with people’s general attitudes towards safety from the virus since the beginning of the pandemic so I don’t think I’m expecting much from people. But, I wanted to write this so I can at least ask for people to have fun in a safe manner. We’re all eager to get back to exciting college life and having our traditional college experiences. Like I said earlier, homecoming was something I always looked forward to. But, unfortunately, we cannot completely let loose yet and we should still keep that in mind.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community
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