Coronavirus, COVID-19, is causing travel to come to a halt across the world. Schools around the globe are canceling trips domestically and internationally in fear of students contracting the virus. After Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School canceled the Model United Nations (MUN) trip to New York City due to COVID-19, I and 12 other students who participate in the club proceeded to attend the conference, with extreme caution.
As we traveled to New York on public transportation, our chaperones continuously reminded us during our train ride to be so very careful of what we touched, and that we need to wash our hands frequently. As I sat on the train ride, I continuously thought of how many people had touched the seat and armrests I was using. I used hand sanitizer repeatedly. Some students’ parents were so fearful of the virus, they drove to New York — not wanting their child to be surrounded by the germs which plague transportation
Once we arrived in Manhattan, we were swarmed by what seemed like a sea of germs coming at us from coughs and sneezes from people around us. We were extremely careful not to touch anything that could potentially cause us to contract the aggressive virus. Taking the subway to reach our destinations during the trip was not an option. Chaperones and parents lectured us daily during the trip about the spread of disease that could be found in crowded subway cars. We decided it would be better to walk or take a cab if necessary.
Every public object I touched, I thought about the possibility of contracting COVID-19. The media has portrayed this virus as a vicious, extremely contagious virus. MUN students were taking every precaution. Many of us were nodding, touching elbows, greeting each other in any way besides shaking hands. The fear of this possibly deadly virus caused us to be cautious in every way.
Brooke is a junior at MVRHS and an intern at The Times.
I initially thought to not comment on this”essay”, but can’t just ignore it. The writer has obviously benefited from a quality education at our High School, but the logic exhibited in attending this conference is questionable at best. What the group of people experienced in NYC was totally predicable and was analogous to walking down a dangerous alley (crowded NYC) looking over your shoulder for a mugger (the virus). This essay in no way speaks well of the decision to ignore the direction of school administrators to terminate this as a sanctioned activity. The group is detailing the precautions they took while in NYC, when if they had only followed the guidance of their school administrators, they wouldn’t have put themselves and others to this additional exposure risk. I guess it was just selfishly “all about them”
Comments are closed.