Student anxiety continues regarding enforcement of health and safety guidelines
Students living on the Hill expressed concern about UCLA not enforcing COVID-19 health and safety protocols. (Esther Li/Daily Bruin staff)
By Sydney Kovach
Oct. 22, 2021 2:16 p.m.
This post was updated Oct. 27 at 11:35 p.m.
Students raised concerns about the lack of enforcement of COVID-19 protocols on campus and on the Hill after traces of COVID-19 were found in the wastewater of numerous residential halls.
UCLA found traces of COVID-19 in early October in samples from De Neve Fir and Holly, as well as Delta Terrace houses three through eight, said UCLA spokesperson Katherine Alvarado in an emailed statement. She added that students’ test results did not show an increase in positive cases or an outbreak.
[Related: UCLA employs wastewater testing to bolster COVID-19 detection efforts on the Hill]
Angelique Rubio, a second-year applied mathematics student who lives in Sproul Hall, said she was concerned to hear about the traces of COVID-19 on the Hill, but is glad the university can identify potential positive cases of COVID-19 and address the issue quickly.
“It’s concerning to hear, but also kind of expected,” Rubio said. “I guess I’m just hopeful that it’s being handled quickly.”
Alvin Nguyen, a second-year economics student who lives in Dykstra Hall, said he feels safe on campus because of the university’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements but is concerned about the enforcement of public health measures.
Nguyen said he thinks the university is not enforcing public health measures such as social distancing or the symptom monitoring survey. He added that UCLA largely enforces mask mandates, but not entirely.
During the Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting Oct. 19, Megan McEvoy, co-chair of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force, said students have not been submitting the symptom monitoring survey at high enough rates.
Starting Nov. 4, the university will increase access restrictions for on-campus dining and recreational facilities for students who do not fill out the survey, McEvoy said
[Related: Students express concern over unclear COVID-19 symptom monitoring requirements]
Satchi Metaxas, a first-year undeclared student who lives in Dykstra Hall, said his professors have not required students to fill out the survey, but other facilities on campus such as gyms have checked for the survey’s completion.
Jada Dawson, a first-year biochemistry student, said her professors and teaching assistants have recently sent more emails reminding students to complete the survey before attending in-person classes. However, she added that she is concerned about whether the survey is effective.
“I think the problem lies where people need to be truthful on the symptom survey, especially if they have symptoms and they think it’s a cold,” Dawson said.
Rubio said her professors are not enforcing the mandate that requires students to fill out the symptom monitoring survey before attending in-person classes.
“UCLA is doing a really great job all things considered,” said Brenna Connell, a first-year English student who lives in De Neve Birch. “It’s kind of frustrating because I don’t so much blame safety protocols themselves so much as students maybe ignoring certain safety protocols.”
Rubio added that she is unsure whether students are honest when filling out the survey.
“I feel like even if people did take it, why would anyone be truthful?” Rubio said. “It’s not hard to just say, ‘Oh nope I’m fine.’”
Contributing reports by Constanza Montemayor, assistant news editor.
