The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many changes on IVCC’s campus. These changes can cause feelings of frustration and confusion among students and staff as they have to continually make adjustments.

The IV Leader spoke with students at IVCC on how they feel about IVCC’s COVID protocol and how it has affected their college experiences. Several students were asked to comment on their feelings about having to wear masks, their opinion on the shield testing and the vaccination incentive that was offered here at IVCC.

Brooke Shirley, a sophomore at IVCC, states, “From my personal opinion of being an athlete, I believe the shield testing is a good method of testing. During the season, SHIELD testing will be beneficial because it can prevent your whole team from obtaining COVID and having your season cancelled.”

Shirley also thought that getting the gift card from the bookstore was a nice reward; it helped in persuading students to bring their vaccination card in for proof.

After talking to several students, most of them commented that they were not expecting to be wearing masks still this year, so there is some dis-appointment. However, the majority of them stated that they understand the reasons behind why they are expected to wear them. They realize that it is just following the rules and it is important to keep the student body and the staff safe.

Jace Addis, a freshman, comments that, “I have friends that go to other colleges that are having outbreaks, so I am glad masks are required, even though it is a pain.”

He felt that the incentive was a good idea to help encourage students to get vaccinated. “Getting a $100 gift certificate from the bookstore was nice,” Addis said.

Some members of the student body feel that they should be the only ones responsible for their own health and should not have others impose their health opinions on them.

They do believe it is necessary to sanitize and wear masks but not necessary to inject them-selves with a questionable substance such as the vaccine. They feel this may be giving people false sense of security regarding the transmission of the dis-ease and would be less likely to follow safe practices. This could possibly result in more outbreaks.

According to the “IVCC Response to COVID-19” webpage that was recently updated on Oct. 1, there have been 71 students and 23 staff cumulative that have tested positive since Aug. 14, 2020. For another update on the week of Sept. 13-19, there was one student and zero staff confirmed cases of COVID.

Even with the challenges and discomforts of the rules, it is obvious that most students are happy to be back on campus and having in-person learning. Most students are hopeful when looking ahead and wishing for less masking, but they do realize this may not be an option for a long time.