In the midst of a global pandemic, communal living presents yet more concerns about the spread of COVID-19. These questions extend beyond those living in dorms, to the growing number of University of Oregon students who are rushing back to Eugene apartments ahead of the start of fall term.
“I have noticed, in the last week, many—maybe three or four more units—have been filled,” said Zoey Bailey, a sophomore at UO, “so people definitely are coming back into the space.”
Bailey has been living at her apartment in Eugene since June. She noted that the influx of people in the building makes it more difficult to navigate social distancing in the two one-person-wide stairwells.
Bailey isn’t the only person with concerns about living in an apartment complex. Based on what Micah Woods heard from their property management, there are no plans in place to stagger move-in later this month, something they find concerning with people potentially coming from all over the country and beyond.
While Kiara Morris’ and Roxy Alexander’s buildings are making efforts to ensure that not everyone arrives at once, that doesn’t completely erase their logistical worries about living in close proximity with others during a global pandemic. For Morris, the concern is immediate: one of her roommates works at a Dutch Bros and she heard that drive through customers are only irregularly wearing masks.
Even though living in an apartment building leaves room for easy accidental exposure to someone outside an established bubble, Alexander isn’t all that worried about high-touch surfaces. Although the complex won’t have the same testing and cleaning regulations that exist in the UO’s dorms, she’s in the habit of frequently sanitizing her hands in shared spaces and washing them as soon as she returns to her home. Alexander and her roommates have openly communicated their comfort levels of potential exposure to COVID-19 and they’re all on the same page.
Woods also trusts their roommates and the coronavirus plan the group created together over Zoom. “I’m more worried about the people who I can’t Zoom and make plans with and coordinate together to make sure that we’re all doing the same thing to keep each other safe,” they said. “That’s where I think living in an apartment complex is a little more stressful, because more people are going in and out.”
Woods said they feel significantly safer in the building than they would if they were living on campus. Beyond the ability to plan precautions with roommates, they don’t have to worry about being kicked out of an apartment should UO go fully online during the semester.
Bailey holds a similar sentiment. She points to the number of shared “touch points” in the dorms, from couches and desks to bathrooms and laundry machines. In contrast, when it comes to her apartment, “I only touch my own door, and I use my own restroom, and that’s it.”
There’s also a social aspect. “I don’t think any of my neighbors ever want to meet me or interact with me,” Bailey says of her apartment, “that’s settled. Versus a dorm, you can have all the regulations, but you’re still going to want to meet your neighbors. You’re going to want to hang out with them and walk through the halls with them.”
For Sophie Dodd, who plans on living in the dorms as an incoming freshman this fall, the social element is also a concern. Although she feels okay about UO’s housing plan—she describes her comfort level as “a solid six” out of 10—she still wants to be careful around new people. “I think for the first couple weeks I’m there, I probably won’t see people a lot,” she explained, “just out of my own comfort.”
Alexander thinks it’s important for individuals to take responsibility to reduce COVID-19 spread, but also points out that the blame doesn’t lie solely on the students should there be an outbreak. “We are at a point in our age where we believe we’re durable and we won’t die,” she says. “Older adults should make the decisions for us and say no, that campus should be closed.”
While Dodd acknowledges the risks of communal living, she also feels safe enough to take up residence in the dorms. “Everyone will be tested before they come,” she said , “and you have to have some level of trust in the people you’re living with, that they’re being diligent.”
