At the beginning of August, we packed our eldest grandson off to college amid a perfect storm of uncertainty. The COVID-19 new case numbers continued to climb in Iowa, but our governor continued to push for schools to open, so open they did. The university had a plan in place to isolate the student groups from each other, and each kid had to sign up for a move-in time designed to minimize contact between strangers. Every single student was tested prior to being given the keys to his or her dorm room. So far, so good.

Except…

Once in the dorms, there was nothing for several thousand freshmen to do for two weeks until classes started. So, they did what most other kids their age would do. They started congregating with those in their dorms, or in groups in the dining hall, or at the various fields and courts around campus. Some of them came home. And some of them had friends come to visit, friends who not only had not been tested, but who very likely carried the virus. Within a week, a bunch of the previously negative freshman now tested positive.

Over the next two weeks, the sophomores, juniors, and seniors moved in. Sororities and frats held parties. The bars opened, and the positive-case numbers skyrocketed. Iowa became a hot spot with a place of shame highlighted in the national and world news. In a belated attempt to control the spread, the governor closed the bars down in several counties. The university forbade large gatherings. Blame started to shift to the students, who didn’t obey the rules and thus caused all this panic.

The elementary, middle, and high schools in the local school district opened up on August 27th for brick and mortar students. On the following Monday, we received notice of the first positive case at the grade school my granddaughter attended last year. No mention was made if the virus victim was a teacher or staff member or student. We’ve received no further word about new cases. Whether that means there have been none, or whether that means we’ve just not been notified, we don’t really know. I’m choosing to believe the former.

The escalating outbreak was inevitable, given the leadership (or lack thereof) from the governor and the encouragement of our state’s senator. No mask mandate. Opening of bars, parks, salons, fitness centers, and other gathering places with no firm restrictions in place and no consequences when someone violates the loosely worded rules. Pushing the schools to open no matter what. No one saw this coming? Really? The expectation that our children will follow direction without question and without error is ludicrous. Especially given that a good number of adults won’t mask or distance themselves to keep others safe.

My college kid texted me a while ago and said he was thinking about coming home. All of his classes are online now, and he’s paying for a dorm room and food plan, both unnecessary. But the penalties for abandoning on-campus living are stiff and will end up costing him more money than what he presently owes for room and board. He has chosen to tough it out where he is, holed up in his dorm room trying to distance himself from the positive cases that have to isolate in his building because the isolation quarters are full to overflowing. I am online-schooling the fifth-grader, which she’s taking with amazing grace and a cheerful attitude. We have it good, relative to many others who can’t be home with their kids and have to send them to school or day care and wait for the hammer to fall. The oldest has of necessity become a hermit, but at least he’s semi-safe. In all this, though, I keep coming back to one thought. Couldn’t we have done all this better?