Senior Kevin Fuller getting his haircut in the comfort of his Hamden home. Photo Credit: John Morgan
With the spread of COVID-19 increasing in pace, twenty-eight states including Connecticut have issued shelter-in-place orders. Although Quinnipiac did not allow students to resume living in on-campus housing following spring break, some students living in off-campus housing have decided to stay in Hamden.
“I think a lot of people that stayed at school are put under a negative light, but most of us are doing it for the right reasons,” senior Kevin Fuller said.
Fuller decided to stay in Hamden after a spring break trip to Mexico. Although he and other students were taking precautions during travel, like wiping down seats and washing their hands, they weren’t entirely sure if they had become infected because it takes a couple of weeks to show symptoms.
“I personally didn’t want to risk infecting my mother or friends’ parents, so I felt it was best to stay in my house in Hamden during the quarantine and stick around the people I had been traveling with,” Fuller said.
While avoiding the spread of the coronavirus was the main reason as to why he decided to stay in Hamden, a more personal reason also came into play.
“I’m a senior, so I guess I was holding on to the last bit of college I had,” Fuller said.
For students such as sophomore Barbora Hrinakova, staying in Hamden was their only option.
“I’m an international student from Slovakia, and I wasn’t able to go home,” Hrinakova said.
Hrinakova was allowed to remain in her on-campus housing due to the pandemic.
“I think it is a interesting and unknown time that we are in right now,” Hrinakova said. “You can really notice the decrease of people around Hamden.”