Contacting Professors

That’s Not Just Bacon on Your Plate (Getting In)

College campuses are a thrilling place for viruses and bacteria. Students, staff, and faculty are all at risk for exposure to everything from the common cold, H1N1 (swine flu), and even conditions as serious as meningitis. These risks are increased substantially if you live in the college dormitories. This is not because your dorm-mates are necessarily dirty (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I've never met your roommate, the one that hasn't washed her hair since she was a freshman in high school because shampoo hurts the environment), but when you get a critical mass of people it's kind of tough to keep everything out, that's a lot of vessels that can carry all kinds of nasty cargo. So for the same reason that the ladies at Sex Ed will tell you to wear a condom, I'm going to tell you to do the following to stay safe at school:

1. Wash your hands constantly -- don't use hand sanitizer as a substitute for good ol' soap and water
2. Stay home when you're sick, don't go to your Psych 101 lecture where you're going to effectively be coughing on 500 other people, you're doing no one any favors, just be sure to email or phone your professors or teaching assistants to let them know you are sick and ask how you can make up the missed work (if another method is not mentioned in the syllabus)
3. Cover your cough! When you cough or sneeze, cover it up with a tissue, handkerchief, or even your hand if you must. Then, wash or use a hand sanitizer on your hands
4. Avoid close contact with people that are sick, if some idiot chose to ignore item number two on this list, don't sit near them in class
5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, ears, and mouth except when cleaning them
6. Practice overall good health habits! Get enough sleep, stay active, don't party too hearty (I'm not naive to think that you're not going to party even if I told you not to), manage your stress, and don't eat meals out of vending machines

Additionally, it's good to know what your school has to offer in regards to health services before you get sick. If your college distributed student handbooks the information is probably in there, if not the information is most likely on the website.

And if you do get sick and fall behind in your school work, don't wait to talk to your adviser and your professor, the most damaging thing you can do is sit on some late assignments until they become a true crisis for your GPA. There is always something you can do to try and help the situation, the first thing you need to do is ask for that help though.

Stay well this flu season and don't play tough when you feel like you're getting sick! It's often easier to get over illness if you take time off rather than tough through your regular schedule (besides, once you're out of college you might not get the chance to take a day off when you're not 100% so take advantage of it while you can!).

Tags: getting in, getting sick at school, sickness, success in college, health tips, dorms, contacting professors, student health, dorm health

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