Hannah Richey
Opinion Editor
[email protected]
Going to parties right now shows an extreme lack of empathy for everyone around you.
Thursday night there was a jersey party at Zydeco, a local club in downtown Birmingham. The streets were full of cars and young people were lined up to enter.
There was no social distancing in the lines or patio, which might be less concerning if there were any substantial number of masks in sight, but there weren’t.
You can’t wear a mask while you’re at a club taking your free shot and you probably won’t put it back on when you finish either.
The people who attend these parties are putting everyone they come in contact with in danger. This includes their friends, families, colleagues and classmates.
We owe it to each other as humans to do our best to keep each other safe—going out to a packed club actively hinders that project.
At this point doing this is a sign of a major character flaw. You know the possibilities but have elected to ignore them for a selfish gain—a free shot because you wore a jersey to Zydeco.
What’s even more shameful is the Zydeco poster including UAB, Samford, and Birmingham Southern’s logos on them. This could tempt students and make them think it’s in some way validated by their schools when it likely isn’t.
For example, UAB’s policies for events include a strict no off-campus events rule in order to prevent the sorts of crowds seen Thursday night.
These policies have largely been effective, demonstrated by our numbers on the UA system dashboard.
Nothing is forcing you to go to a club or go to a packed house party. If students want to be seen as adults then they need to make adult decisions. That means telling your friends that you’re not going to put yourself or others in danger.
The need for collective understanding and empathy has never been stronger. None of this is a matter of individual desire.
Your mask and inclinations to follow general safety guidelines aren’t about you. It’s about keeping those around you safer.
The excuse that you’re young so it doesn’t matter will not work. You have classmates that are immunocompromised and have health problems that could make the virus deadly. If you work, you have people you interact with that have these problems too.
It’s not difficult to just stay home and not go to the club. It’s probably the easiest thing to do right now.
And if you really don’t care about others, think about how this could affect your life. No one wants to be put into quarantine housing or have to do homework while they can’t stop coughing.
Don’t risk anyone else’s safety for overpriced drinks in a crowded club.
