Ah, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when students cough so loudly, class discussions come to a halt, and when students can no longer study inside the library because of ongoing sneezing. It’s the time of year where you wonder why the parking lot appears empty and why your classes feel so small. This time of year, known as “winter,” is when the temperature drops down to the low 70’s, sweatpants are pulled out of drawers, and Starbuck’s hot chocolate is back on the market. Winters in Miami are brief (and non existent), yet always bring about the Country Day Plague. If you have the sniffles, a running nose, a cough, any aches, and/or a fever, you’ve been plagued. This virus makes its way through the Country Day community like a wildfire and there is simply no way of stopping it.

Nurse Fran comes into contact with the plague every day as students are constantly entering the nurse’s office for various reasons. Nurse Fran reported that last Monday, November 3rd, 138 students visited the nurse. The next day, 117 students checked in followed by 93, 128, and 110 on Friday. While many students do exhibit symptoms of the Country Day plague, Nurse Fran noted that not all students who signed into the nurse were there for necessary reasons. She explained, “Students who have a cough should be able to purchase cough drops at a local Walgreens… It isn’t necessary to check into the nurse two, three times a day to ask for cough drops.”

Furthermore, while the plague affects students from junior kindergarten through grade twelve, student athletes are faced with even greater troubles. Connor Space, a senior and cross-country runner, was faced with the plague beginning last Thursday, the 4th. His illness worsened after attending school and cross-country practice, however with regionals last Saturday, he knew he had to attend school. Therefore, Connor returned to school Friday, pale and weak, in order to be eligible to run in Saturday’s meet. The pressure to attend school and practice, due to the various academic and athletic attendance policies, endangers the student’s health as well as the surrounding students. While Connor did wear his hood over his face all day, he had the ability to curse other students with the plague. Perhaps, if students with the plague were more willing to stay home in order to regain health, the plague would not have so many victims.