As the semester continues, students have noticed inconsistencies with the university’s social distancing guidelines around campus, especially in dining halls and classrooms.
Throughout the dining halls, stickers are placed to ensure patrons are socially distancing, but during lunch and dinner rushes, the guidelines are mostly ignored. Many students are disappointed with lack of student adherence and the university’s enforcement of social distancing guidelines.
Many dining halls experience a high level of crowding, from shoulder-to-shoulder lines at Southwest, to crowded lobbies at Plaza 900 and Sabai. In certain halls, chairs are leashed to tables to discourage the moving of furniture, and every other seat is uninstalled in booth seating. Outside, seats have been removed from picnic tables. In Southwest, Sabai and Baja Grill, booths and tables are open to non-socially distanced seating. Queues and waiting areas are marked with stickers and tape, but groups are commonly seen sitting together.
“[The guidelines are] largely unenforced and unenforceable to a degree,” Calvin Thomas, a freshman Hudson Hall resident, said. “Ultimately, it’s a personal responsibility and of course those who don’t want to, won’t.”
Sophomore Aleesa Hill said the lack of enforcement undermines the guidelines in the first place.
“If [the administration is] going to make guidelines that are supposed to keep [students] safe, it doesn’t do any good if people just get away [with] breaking them,” Hill said.
However, not everyone thinks MU has issues with enforcing social distancing. Brianna Dierks, a freshman Hatch Hall resident, said she is satisfied with the university’s handling of the current guidelines.
“I feel like they’re doing pretty good at enforcing it,” Dierks said. “It makes it a lot harder to socialize and make friends, but I appreciate that they’re doing it.”
A few students expressed their frustration with the inconsistency across campus to The Maneater.
“I’ve never had problems at Plaza and I sit with people a lot,” Hill said. “I got split up once in the Student Center but that’s it.”
Jackson Bowes, an MU freshman, hasn’t had as smooth an experience as Hill.
“I’ve been removed from sitting with my roommate in the dining halls twice,” Bowes said.
Normal on-campus events have been cancelled in favor of maintaining the guidelines.
Bowes said,“I believe the policies make sense but I feel as if the university has dropped the ball on giving alternative social outlets.”
A group of 135 professionals, including medical professionals, met over this past spring and summer to discuss and devise the social distancing regulations on-campus, according to MU Spokesperson Liz McCune.
“In general, we have encouraged our staff to point out when they see social distancing not taking place and individuals not following our rules and regulations. We have placed floor clings to remind individuals to stand 6 feet apart,” McCune said. “We also offer meal delivery to residence halls for students waiting for their COVID test results.”
McCune made a few suggestions to those concerned with safety.
“There is a form on the Show-Me Renewal website to report an incident. All dining halls have to-go options.”
Students said in-person classes struggle to adhere to social distancing.
“[In] classrooms, it’s alright, just annoying. One of my classes is in a big lecture hall though, and the spacing of available seats is very inconsistent,” Hill said. “I feel like they could have a lot more capacity if they just stuck with one way to do it.”
MU freshman Charles Boehme said he is disappointed with how other students follow the guidelines. Boehme said the only guideline his fellow students follow is wearing masks.
MU announced on Thursday, Oct. 15, that classes will continue on-campus after Thanksgiving break. As flu season approaches, and people begin to spend more time inside, the distancing discrepancies continue unaddressed.
_Edited by Joy Mazur | jmazur@themaneater.com_