Color kits, nose swabs, sets of eyes above blue disposable masks. These sights were defining features of campus life this fall. Though most students were compliant in wearing masks indoors and completing their weekly testing, more students disagreed with Harvard’s COVID-19 policies this semester than one might expect. And as the surging omicron variant renders this week eerily similar to mid-March of 2020, students share concerns about the spring semester.
In an anonymous survey on Harvard’s COVID-19 policies, compiled on December 6th by Jillian Graver ’23, Zachary Lech ’22, and other students, roughly 62% of the 611 respondents strongly agreed with Harvard’s policy to regularly test students for COVID-19. On September 2 and November 28, Harvard College increased testing requirements for students from once a week to three times a week, and 61% and 67% of respondents agreed with these decisions, respectively.
Dhiya Sani ’23 helped elucidate these perspectives. “While I know that many found the testing cadence throughout the fall to be a bit overcompensating, I was honestly thankful for how hard Harvard cracked down on us to get tested,” she said. “It kept cases largely controlled from September to November and allowed us to live pretty regular college lives with feelings of certainty about our health statuses.”
However, student sentiment was more uniform on the issue of decreasing testing requirements in accordance with decreasing case counts: 83% agreed with the College’s October 4th decision to reduce testing requirements for students from three times a week to two times a week. And in response to the question, “How frequently would you be tested for COVID-19, if it were up to you?” almost a fifth of respondents said “never.”
Evidently, students are not unilaterally supportive of Harvard’s policies throughout the semester. While nearly half of survey respondents strongly agreed that they should be required to wear masks in class, 68% disagreed with the mandate of wearing masks when visiting other students’ dorms or suites. And though roughly 30% of respondents found it “very important” to follow mask policies, 20% found it “very unimportant.”
Who are the nameless individuals who disagree with these mandates?
At Princeton, one student made his opinions known when he noticed inconsistencies in the University handling of a surge in on-campus cases after Thanksgiving Break. In response to an email announcement limiting social gatherings to no more than 20 people, David Piegaro ’25 wrote a letter to Princeton’s Dean Dolan and Vice President Calhoun on November 27th, which was published the next day in The Daily Princetonian.
“If the risks currently posed by COVID-19 are truly grave, then the University should not allow formals or other social gatherings of more than 20 students to occur, but then the University should also neither allow in-person dining nor in-person class,” he wrote. While many student gatherings were cancelled, dining halls remained open and classes continued in person.
“We shouldn’t let an uptick in cases distract us from the fact that we are well-protected, and we should not restrict students’ activities in ways that would make, at most, a marginal impact on student health but a significant impact on their well-being,” Piegaro added.
“They’re doing this now, but this shows they’re prone to overreact. What are they going to do next?”
His argument was an anomaly only in that he publicly voiced it; after the letter was published, many students approached Piegaro explaining that they concurred with him. Although he engaged in a couple disagreements on Tiger Confessions, an anonymous Facebook page for Princeton students, and received a comment on Instagram accusing him of just wanting to party, his feedback was largely encouraging. In the Princeton 2025 Parents Facebook Page, parents have posted positive comments about his letter, with one parent even directly sending him a supportive message on Instagram.
In conversation with the Independent a few days later, Piegaro elaborated on his viewpoint toward Princeton’s social restrictions: “The policy is unmoored from reality … Because we’re all vaccinated and hopefully we’ll soon get boosted, cases aren’t a super important metric.” He described a bad likely viral infection that spread across campus for two months, known as “the Princeton plague” which didn’t prompt any changes in the University’s regulations on socializing.
Princeton’s restrictions also seemed to provoke fear in students: “I think a lot of us were like, oh, this is just the beginning. They’re doing this now, but this shows they’re prone to overreact. What are they going to do next?” Piegaro shared.
With the rise of the omicron variant, students’ fears about future university policies toward COVID-19 are growing. In the past couple of weeks, the number of kits sent to labs have grown, just as the layers of masks on our faces have doubled. At Harvard, there have been 314 new positive cases within the University in the last seven days, up from an average weekly count of 52 this semester. According to a December 16 email from President Bacow, Alan M. Garber, Executive Vice President Katie Lapp, and Giang T. Nguyen, Executive Director of Harvard University Health Services, omicron is likely fueling this surge.
“Because case numbers have been low this semester, we have become comfortable with certain ways of living and letting our guard down,” wrote Dean of Students Katie O’Dair in a December 14th email to the student body.
On December 16th, Harvard University Dinings Services (HUDS) shifted to exclusive Grab-n-Go Dining beginning that night to Saturday, December 18th, the last day of finals. In another December 16th email, Bacow, Garber, Lapp, and Nguyen announced that Harvard will require COVID-19 boosters for all eligible community members for the spring semester.
“I really think their requirement of the booster Spring semester and maintenance of testing 3x a week is a powerful approach to minimizing the spread, but I can only hope that it’s enough to keep us in-person next semester,” said Sani.
She is hopeful, however, that Harvard will not go online: “Thankfully, as Harvard said, Omicron transmission does not seem to take place in class settings, so I pray that’s enough to rule out going completely virtual.” Marina Zoullas ’23 is also optimistic: “If they’re requiring boosters it’s because they’re expecting to be in person.”
This semester, student sentiment was divided on issues of testing, mask wearing, and social gatherings, both at Harvard and beyond. It remains to be seen how students will view whatever regulations are enforced next semester. But as many depart campus for Winter Recess, questions abound about if and how the in-person campus experience will change in line with the evolving nature of the pandemic. Several universities, including University of Southern California, have already informed students they are considering a remote start to spring courses.
“My worst nightmare would be returning to online classes for the rest of senior year,” Virginia Tiernan ’22 shares. However, she said, “It is reassuring to know that the University is providing as many resources as possible to contain the virus.”
Mary Julia Koch ’23 is the Editor-in-Chief of the Independent.