New Year, new variant. As soon as the pandemic appeared to start dying down, a new coronavirus variant that is more contagious than the last has appeared. Once I allowed myself to get my hopes up that college would be able to resume like normal, the coronavirus sank its claws deeper into society. Just last week, I was informed that, because of this pandemic, I will not be able to study abroad at the university and country I so desperately want to attend for next semester. Although I think it is important for higher education facilities to protect against this virus, I do not think the measures should come at the expense of learning altogether.
Last week, I was informed by my advisor that there is a chance that my study abroad dreams might not be coming true. Specifically, I was told to keep my options open, as the only universities I can study at are known for shutting down at a moment’s notice.With the rise of globalization, studying abroad is becoming increasingly common for college students. Most study abroad programs through the University of Mississippi try to be as affordable as possible while offering learning opportunities that cannot be provided within Mississippi. With the rise of Omicron, however, many higher education institutions are shutting their doors to students. Many study abroad students have reported issues of visa approval latency, reduced flight frequency, incoming flight bans and issues with different quarantine rules. All of these and more can drastically impact a student’s abilities to sustain themselves while abroad, let alone change their overall experience. It is especially hard to keep up with the different rules and regulations in different countries, as they constantly change.
I am in no way trying to bash the University of Mississippi. In fact, I must respect UM for even trying to continue its study abroad program. Other, more well-known universities, such as Yale, have barred students from studying abroad following the recent spike of Omicron throughout the world. Although I think it is our moral duty to be careful during these times of uncertainty, preventing students from the education we crave is going too far. I can understand requiring masks, periodic COVID-19 tests or even mandating the vaccine, but the notion of preventing students altogether from learning abroad is utterly ludicrous.
As a society, we have learned and overcome great hardships in the past two years. We have learned from our mistakes and are currently acquiring knowledge on what policies do and do not work. Policies that make it harder for students to study will only hurt society in the long run, as having a less educated population will never lead to a good outcome. I graduated high school on an empty stage due to COVID-19, and I fear I will graduate college with COVID-19 still hanging over the world.
Willow Crosby is a sophomore majoring in accounting from Tupelo, Mississippi.
