An analysis of Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this week revealed that some students are safer on their college campus than they would be at home. Many college students have returned home in response to the ongoing Chinese virus pandemic.
According to a report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, some students at Robert Morris University are learning that their quiet campus is a safe place to quarantine during the Chinese virus pandemic. Of the 4,300 students that are enrolled at Robert Morris, only 41 students remain on campus.
Zaithwa Gwaza, a business student at Robert Morris University, opted to stay on campus. Gwaza would have had a 21-hour international flight to an African home that has an inconsistent internet connection. “I have a single mother. She was not too worried about me staying here,” Gwaza said. “She’s very religious and believes that God would take care of me.”
Gwaza, the president of Robert Morris’ student government, told a reporter that this period has been an adjustment. All remaining students have been moved into a single dormitory building. Although most campus services have shuttered, Morris and his peers are still able to get meals from the campus dining hall.
Another student, Sara Chernicky, also opted to remain on campus after weighing the risk of transmitting the virus to her mother. Chernicky was forced to exchange an abrupt goodbye with a friend from Canada.
“She was a senior, and I don’t know when I’m going to see her again,” Chernicky said. “There wasn’t a lot of closure there. It’s sad.”
Although the remaining students at Robert Morris are weathering the storm, many are still feeling the impact of the pandemic. “It seems like the apocalypse or something,” Chernicky finished.