By Merete Aanes & Anna Ornelas (Whetstone Staff)
Hand sanitizer dispensers are now located throughout the College Center lobby.
It seems as though everyone is just getting over a cold or becoming sick.
“Wash your hands, cover your nose and mouth when you’re coughing and use hand sanitizer,†said Jill Maser, director of the Wesley College health center.
Since most professors take roll every day, students who are sick might choose to go to class instead of staying in bed, passing their virus on to other students.
In order to prevent students from getting sick, “The custodial staff has been asked to double up, and pay extra attention to the common areas and bathrooms,†said Kevin Hansbury, director of residence life.
Hansbury also said that the bathrooms in the dorms will be cleaner on weekends than they have been before.
There are now weekend custodians.
“The biggest thing I try to do is to keep my hands away from my face,†said Justin Rhodes, a Media Arts senior. “In addition to using the hand sanitizer around campus when it’s available.â€
Erica Queen, also a Media Arts senior, uses a similar strategy.
“I use hand sanitizer to wash my hands and I take vitamins,†Queen said.
Hansbury has advice for everyone.
“Wash your hands regularly, have good personal hygiene and get to the health center if you become sick,†he said.
Some students like the health center, while others don’t even know it exists.
“I think the health center is convenient, although we should have a doctor there all the time,†Rhodes said.
“I don’t even know when they’re open,†Queen said. “It should be located in the College Center as many people don’t even know where it is.â€
The student health center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“Students who get sick on weekends should go to one of the walk-in clinics in Dover,†Maser said.
The closest walk-in clinic to Wesley college center is Doc in a Box on Route 8, a mile west of campus.
There will be a flu clinic in the College Center on Oct. 5, where students can get the seasonal flu shot for $30.
“If you’ve never gotten a flu shot before, this is the season to get one,†Maser said.
Other campus health concerns include reports of bugs in dorms.
“Of all reported cases, bed bugs have been ruled out,†Hansbury said.
Exterminators have cleaned the rooms, treating each as if it was infested with bed bugs.
There have only been signs of ants and spiders, which are typical in dorms, Hansbury said.
Students can start to help get rid of bugs by washing linens once a week, practicing cleanliness and throwing out trash.
If students have any issues concerning bugs, they should report it to a residence director, residence assistant, or call Residence Life at 302-736-2443, extension 2443.
