Flu season is already in full swing and for students at Keene State College, that means borrowing NyQuil, debating on whether to skip class and avoiding sick roommates.
“The flu season is rough, it’s so easy to be sleep deprived and push yourself past your limits in college so it’s really easy to get sick,” Marisa Benson, a KSC senior, said when she said why she thinks sickness seems to take over the KSC campus.
Holly Geno, a first-year student, has only experienced being sick at school once, but she does have a few more years at KSC ahead of her.
Geno said, “I just think it’s important not only for people who are sick to take care of themselves but to also think of others and try to stay in bed and out of class if they’re not feeling well.”
Photo Illustration by Taylor Thomas / Student Life Editor
Benson, who said she seems to get sick about once a semester, agreed with Geno.
“If I am really sick, I end up staying home [from class],” Benson said.
She added, “I feel bad because we live in a society that pushes us and tells us not to pay attention to our bodies,” she said.
“So frankly, I feel sad for [professors and classmates] that they felt they need to show up [to class] when they feel really sick,” she explained.
Benson said she believes that taking care of her own body is more important than grades or showing up for classes.
Chris Oblon, also a first-year student at KSC, feels differently.
“I admire their ability to put education first even when they’re sick,” Oblon said of sick professors or peers who show up to class.
Besides a classroom full of sick students, a coughing roommate could also pose a problem.
“It’s hard because I want to help make [my roommate] feel better but I am also almost guaranteed to get sick, which puts me in a bad position,” Benson explained.
Geno said she is willing to travel to the store to pick up tissues if her roommate runs out.
She said, “My roommate hasn’t really been sick much, but I try to make sure she has what she needs. I try to look out for her.”
When it comes to getting better, Geno relies on getting a good night sleep and drinking plenty of fluids.
“I tried going to the health center on campus once,” Benson said, “but they were too busy so I couldn’t be seen.”
Benson has always had pleasant experiences with the health center. “They’re always so nice to me,” Benson said.
“I don’t actually have any of my own medicine,” Oblon admitted.
“So I usually end up borrowing cough syrup and throat lozenges from my friends,” he added.
Benson added, “I have home remedies I like to use when I feel myself getting sick. I’ll drink apple cider vinegar, I’ll eat raw garlic and I’ll drink lots of tea and water.”
It appears that KSC students all have their different ways of dealing with being sick and all use different ways to get back to health.
For Oblon, it meant skipping all his classes and staying in bed.
“I’m sick right now, actually,” Oblon said.
Oblon is hoping to be well enough to attend classes after a long weekend of borrowed medicine and movies.
Jill Giambruno can be contacted at jgiambruno@keene-equinox.com
