Health

During the peak of COVID-19 cases in New York City, Columbia construction workers resumed operations at the Manhattanville campus after an updated state order outlined exceptions to social distancing guidelines on Sunday. However, workers and experts raised concerns over construction workers’ increased risks of contracting COVID-19 and the conditions that place workers at greater risk of injury and make social distancing impossible.

A recent community health study determined that residents of Community District 9, which encompasses 110th to 155th Street on the West Side of Manhattan, experience significant barriers in access to health care. The study reported that slightly over one-sixth of the CD9 population was unable to get medical attention when they needed it. If there is a world-class hospital located at the center of CD9, why are so many people who desperately need medical attention unable to receive it? As Spectator reported last week, West Harlem residents lack sufficient access to medical facilities and hospitals. This challenge is due to the impoverished state of about one-fifth of CD9 residents, the district’s disproportionate number of people with medical conditions, and the presence of only one hospital in the district.

Officials from the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine had announced on Monday that the cathedral would serve as a field hospital to treat COVID-19 patients at the end of the week. But before its doors even opened for COVID-19 patients, plans were abruptly canceled, as public health officials said that the slowing rate of virus-related hospitalizations in the city made them reassess the need for the project.

As we continue to adjust to life in the era of the coronavirus pandemic, many Columbia and Barnard community members are also in quarantine, which can be particularly draining to physical and mental health. If you’re finding it hard to motivate yourself to complete assignments or to go to sleep at a reasonable time, Spectrum has some advice to keep you physically and mentally healthy during quarantine.

“We stay here for you. You stay home for us!!!” I see the viral Facebook post for the fourth time today: a photo of 11 doctors in scrubs, gloves, and masks holding signs. The first 10 each have one word; the final doctor has three exclamation points. The message is clear, concise, and necessary: The men and women of the healthcare industry are risking their lives to save those of us who may have chosen to not take precautions during this epidemic, so the least we could do to thank them is heed the government’s warnings.

Lately, I’ve been reframing the unique features of my body as gifts from generations before me. I imagine my smile as belonging to my ancestors who found reasons to smile despite great adversities. I wonder if my back that allows me to stand tall belonged to men who refused to cower in fear. Did my hips belong to women who found rhythm in the crashing waves of the Caribbean Sea?

At 8 p.m. on Monday nights, I usually sit in the Spectator office. This is arguably the place where I spend most of my time, and inarguably, this is the place where I watch The Bachelor.

When I came to Barnard, I already knew that I wanted to graduate early. On paper, it seemed feasible. However, almost everyone I spoke to warned that it would be incredibly difficult. Still, I did not consider an increased workload grounds for abandoning my desire. My parents have taken on more than their fair share of work to care for me. Easing their financial burden by graduating early was the least that I could do. Graduating early would make it financially possible for my brother to apply to his dream schools and for our parents to afford our educational and vocational aspirations past college.