DON’T BE A SICKO

As a new school year progresses and people start to get into their schedules, the hallways are constantly abuzz with the chatter of over one thousand students.  However, as the weather gets cold, new students arrive, and people travel, something more sinister joins the mostly harmless banter among the students and teachers of SHS: sickness.

The common cold, the flu, tonsillitis, and strep throat (illnesses we all are likely to be familiar with) are usual byproducts of the germs that each and every person is guilty of transporting across campus on any given day.  Germs are invisible to the naked eye, but once the first body is infected, the physical effects speak for themselves. Yes, the moment that the illness claims a victim, the halls become thea playing field, and the odds are not in our favor.

Many studies and videos (such as “Bill Nye Demonstration: How Germs Spread”) show that something as simple as one’s uncovered sneeze or dirty hands spread germs like wildfire, a fact that makes these actions more than enough to start a vicious chain reaction, spreading a physical inconvenience to every person that comes into contact. As individuals handle their phones, type an essay, open doors, and interact with friends, the germs are spread from surface to person and vice versa.

From there, it is only a matter of time before the school becomes a tribute to Darwin and those with the most susceptible immune systems fall ill first. The sickness continues to spread, dwelling in the air and on clothes, never satisfied until it is able to infect the unsuspecting

As more become infected, absences build, work piles up, and stress levels rise until each and every person has also healed their falling grades. Once healthy, students are returned to school only to face the same illness battle that they’d just finished.

This is a situation affecting different people each day. Luckily, this cycle can be broken, and it takes much less than a hazmat team or a lengthy fumigation; all one must do is simply take precautions. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, consider carrying a travel-sized hand sanitizer, and please, if you find yourself feeling ill, stay home and get well. Take care of your body; don’t be a sicko.