H1N1 student concerns

Students who are sick or have caught the swine flu are urged to talk with their professors and then stay home. Student senators met Monday at the Weber State University Davis Campus to discuss the swine flu and the issues the H1N1 pandemic presents.
Senators discussed H1N1 as a way to address student concerns and make sure students are staying healthy or staying home if they are sick.
WSU’s Chief of Police and Emergency Manager Dane LeBlanc addressed the senate and gave information regarding campus closures, flu vaccines, reducing the spread of the flu and missing class if students are sick.
LeBlanc suggested students stay in touch with their teachers if they need to miss class because of the flu.
“(We) encourage professors, instructors and deans to say, ‘Hey, do what you can to work with your students so they feel that they can stay home and not miss out or fall behind in the class,’” LeBlanc said. “I know that is being encouraged.”
LeBlanc also said that their biggest effort for the Emergency Management Program is to keep campus open.
“Closing campus is not an option. We won’t do it,” LeBlanc said. “We will find a way to continue teaching through whatever method that professor has identified, including via the Internet.”
The Emergency Management Program was set up to provide services for WSU and to create effective emergency response plans. They also have been in charge of Code Purple and suggest students update their information in their student portal on Code Purple so they can be informed in the event of campus closing because of swine flu.
Professors and instructors first discussed the H1N1 pandemic at an information session in mid-August. They were urged to communicate with their classes and work with them on late assignments or missed tests. The meeting also prompted new suggestions for syllabuses across campus and they now include guidelines for how to proceed with assignments and coursework should a student get swine flu or if the flu affects the entire campus.
In the August information session, faculty and staff discussed the possibility that students would use the swine flu as an excuse to hand in assignments late. Faculty said they wouldn’t require students to bring in a doctor’s note, and that they should try and be lenient with students who claim they have the swine flu.
Department Chair for Health Sciences, Marie Kotter, was involved with the information session in August and said one of her concerns was that students would not take care of themselves and rest up if they got sick.
Senate President Elene Kvernadze found several students in her classes are doing just that. She said students often come to class when they have a cough or are sick because they are afraid of missing a lecture or important information.
“I have students in all of my classes that are coming to school sick so they don’t miss a lecture or a test without even informing the teacher,” Kvernadze said. “It’s not that the teachers aren’t cooperating, they are just coming to school sick.”
Some senators expressed concern that their constituencies have tried to talk with their professors and have had a difficult time with handing in assignments after they have been ill. Senators discussed this problem on Oct. 26 at the last Student Senate Meeting.
Vice President for Student Affairs, Jan Winniford, suggested students talk with the head of their department if their professors aren’t being lenient with them.
“The process is that if the faculty member is being unreasonable (with students), then they talk to the department head of wherever that class is being offered,” Winniford said.
Davis Campus Vice President Victoria Thompson is also worried about students who come to school sick and gave a few suggestions of how to help those students and keep the other students healthy. Thompson said if students appear sick or have a cough they could wear a mask if they come to campus to help cut down the spread of germs.
LeBlanc said if students are coming to campus sick, they can’t tell them to leave. However, if faculty or staff come in feeling sick they can be asked to leave in order to rest and feel better.
Because students can’t be asked to leave, masks are a great way to help keep germs at a minimum. LeBlanc said he has spent about $15,000 this year on masks, gloves and hand sanitizers that are available for students and faculty to use. The Emergency Management Program has encouraged individual departments to purchase their own supplies as well.
Information regarding H1N1 is listed on the WSU Web site and can be found at www.weber.edu/flu.