Health is wealth

I remember getting sick my first time away from home. I felt like I was going to pass out in class, so I walked myself to the Health Center. The school’s policy is to treat less severely ill students with temporary relief. In my experience, I was handed cough drops and told to go back to class after being examined by the nurse on duty, per school policy. It is bizarre that if we feel sick, we are essentially told to suck it up because we might be faking it. In what world do we honestly deny someone rest when they feel like they want to crawl in a hole? In fact, since “the plague” contaminated campus, I’ve heard countless testimonies from fellow students that the Health Center wouldn’t check them in because they “didn't have a fever.” They then proceeded to lightly medicate these kids and send them on their way. This doesn’t seem right to do to students who are already having enough difficulty having to take care of themselves while being sick away from home. 

Over the course of my time at Mercersburg, I would say that I have learned the system and have my sick routine down pat. This consists of naps in my free period, comfy clothes as I push the school dress code, and lots of water. However, I still think that the inability to rest in our own rooms is just wrong. School policy states that students feeling ill may not miss class and rest in their own rooms due to the potential misuse of such a policy. Thus, sick students have to drag themselves throughout the day no matter how bad they feel, which only spreads more disease around campus. Being sick should be a valid excuse to miss appointments. Getting rest so we can perform at our best is more important than attending required meals or events when we feel terrible, just so we don’t get points. 

 Overall, I would say that our campus sick policy could use some work and while I understand that the school doesn’t want students to stay in their rooms and abuse the sick policy, the idea of a room retreat does have some merit, and it would be helpful for all of us coughing, wheezing, and hacking students and the others we will potentially infect.