By Ava Thompson
Kiera Green, a freshmen letters and science student, thought she would test negative when she went to get a COVID-19 test at the health center. But she was called to a tent and told she had COVID-19. Green said employees at the health center remained calm and gave her a number to call, but their relaxed response shocked her.
“I had heard that UMD last year was being super, super strict about testing. I think they’ve definitely gotten a bit looser with that in my opinion, but I also don’t have a ton of information on the quarantine,” Green said.
Due to UMD’s new vaccine mandate, the class of 2025 did not have to undergo the testing and quarantine requirements that were in place last year. But some freshmen who had the virus this semester said they were confused by the university’s changed COVID-19 policies, lost friends and encountered the feeling of missing out.
Students who test positive should immediately contact HEAL, the university’s COVID-19 hotline, and leave a voicemail, according to the HEAL website. Health center employees are supposed to return calls, but some freshmen said they faced long wait times.
Freshman letters and sciences student Anna Ascherio-Victoria said she initially called the After Hours Nurse Line to discuss her positive COVID-19 test because HEAL has limited hours.
However, Ascherio-Victoria said she had a hard time reaching someone on the line.
“They just kept telling me they were going to call me back within a certain amount of time,” she said. “It had been four hours and they still hadn’t called.”
Ally Bloom, a freshman letters and sciences student, said she was unsure when she was able to return to campus when she had COVID-19 in September. Bloom said a HEAL hotline operator told her to return to campus after quarantine on Sept. 22, but the center said she should come back on Sept. 23.
Bloom and Green said they felt university encouraged in-state students to go home.
Green said she was concerned about going home because her father is high-risk for COVID-19. However, Green said her mother allowed her to come home. Green quarantined there for a week.
“It’s pretty weird being at home but also like not even being at home,” Green said. “Like not getting to see my family. I just sat in my room and tried to keep up with work and everything.”
Stories Beneath the Show reached out several times to the university for comment on students’ complaints and was referred to the HEAL and Q/I webpages for information
Massachusetts native Ascherio-Victoria was unable to return home to quarantine and moved to the Leonardtown communities. In the Leonardtown apartments, up to four students quarantine alone in their own separate rooms.
“It was tough obviously, but I just kept myself busy with doing a lot of schoolwork and FaceTiming friends and watching TV,” Ascherio-Victoria said. “It wasn’t that bad. Towards the end is when I started to be like ‘I need to get out here.’”
Nyomi Fox, a freshman psychology major, said going home to quarantine was a nice break to have in the middle of the semester. But Fox, who uses she/they pronouns, said she faced backlash from friends after coming back.
Fox said her friends started ignoring her because they thought she could have infected them with COVID-19 — despite her best efforts to convince them she did not catch it purposefully and had no intentions of infecting others.
“I was like, ‘this is actually dehumanizing and stupid,’” Fox said. “They actually stopped talking to me.”
Green said when she came back her friends were talking about different events and parties that were going on when she was in quarantine. The freshman said she was ready to return, but it was still an adjustment.
“I definitely felt a bit out of place when I first got back because I just felt like I had missed so much,” Green said. “Even though it (has) only been a week, it just felt like a lot.
Featured photo: A view from a Leonardtown quarantine apartment that faces other non-quarantine apartments and restaurants on Route 1. Photo by Ava Thompson.