Marquette.

Today I am writing as a student, an off-campus resident, a junior English major, a young woman living in Milwaukee, a human being.

I am writing from the comforts of my living room table as I watch chaos unfold through my text notifications, those closest to me in a state of crisis within the confines of their dorm rooms. I am writing helplessly and hopelessly, in knowing that perhaps these words mean essentially nothing as you turn a blind eye to those you claim to care about the most.

I feel as though you collectively are wearing your mask incorrectly, covering your eyes instead of your nose and mouth. I feel as though you are lying to us through the skin of your teeth, telling us not to worry, telling us to simply wash our hands and wear a mask and stay six feet apart and to answer “no” when asked “do you have COVID-19?”

I know these are not your intentions, yet I am writing this with tears of frustration in my eyes as I watch students drop like flies in each of my classes, and watch one dorm leave quarantine and one dorm experience mandatory testing.

I am at a loss of words.

How long will you act like this? Until one of us is hospitalized? Until one of us dies?

The health and general wellbeing of your students, faculty and community members will forever be more important than dimes and dollars or the “experience of in-person classes” or whatever your reasoning is to keep us open. We cannot experience any such things fully waking up in fear everyday. It has become unsafe for us to attend classes in-person. It has become unsafe for us to be here.

You have jeopardized me, my friends, their friends and so on. You have jeopardized your beloved professors and staff members, and the community in which you claim to serve. You have done them all a disservice.

Please reconsider.

Thank you.

This story was written by Katie Breck, a Marquette student who volunteered to write this letter. She is not a staff member for the Wire. She can be reached at [email protected].

To submit a letter to the editor, email Executive Opinions Editor Alex Garner at [email protected] and copy Managing Editor of the Marquette Tribune Annie Mattea and Executive Director Natallie St. Onge on those emails. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].