Never Again
After the catastrophe of the SARs epidemic, and the face that was lost, China was determined never to let a similar epidemic happen again. Criticism swirled around early cases that were hidden and precautions that were avoided. This time around, with the much less deadly H1N1 disease, the nation is ensuring that no criticism about protective measures will be able to be aired.
Nowhere is this more evident than on college campuses. Some who have discovered a case of H1N1 have canceled all classes, and shut all students in their dormitories, to stymie the spread of the flu. Measures on our campus are not quite as drastic, but then again we haven’t had any cases of H1N1 yet.
Something unique about college campuses in China is the fact that the majority of them are completely walled in. Some of the walls are not very high or menacing, but nonetheless there is a possibility of “locking down” the campus. This is the current measure being employed on our campus. Students are no longer allowed to leave the confines of the campus. Holes and weak sections of the wall have been patched up. Low areas of the wall have had barbed wire placed on top. Students are threatened that they won’t be able to graduate if they are caught jumping the wall. All of the gates to the campus are staffed by a few security guards, armed with thermometers. Teachers and foreign faces are allowed to freely come and go, but students are stopped from exiting unless they have a special paper from the head of their department. Temperature checks happen frequently, and those with a fever are quarantined. Teachers have been told to be lenient with absences, since the least sign of infection (even though most are no more than a slight cold) means students are banned from class. Restaurants, internet bars, fruit and vegetable stalls, and shops tantalizingly visible from behind the wall and formerly heavily frequented by students are now off limits. I can only imagine the hit these businesses are taking.
The challenge for our team of teachers is that our building is technically off campus (although it’s in the neighborhood of teacher apartment buildings directly outside the wall). Consequently, all of the student activities we host in our homes have been halted. When the regulations first began, we were able to simply meet students at the gate and the guards would let them pass. But the rules are getting stricter, and now to enter our building students must have a specific note of approval. The lock down, which originally was going to be for 10 days, has been extended indefinitely. You can imagine how great the grumbling of students would be if it’s extended for the entirety of flu season.
ugh. that’s kinda scary…i mean, not H1N1 but all the measures taken…I guess you guys have a little more free time though 🙂 Explains how you could come up with a pumpkin spice latte…. will be thinking for creative ways in which you all can engage with students and continue the good work there.