Opinions

Keeping camps closed would ensure safety, authenticity

Carly Kaplowitz '21, Staff Writer|April 30, 2020

Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, some camps are deciding to remain open but have many restrictions to avoid spreading and receiving the virus.

Summer camp is a place where all your worries subside and there is not a care in the world. There is no stress that you slept through your alarm or forgot to hand your paper in for class, and the biggest anxiety is if you will make it in time to the dining hall before the grilled cheese runs out.

But since the news about the Coronavirus pandemic remains unsettling, the future for summer camp to proceed for summer 2020 looks unpromising. While I whole-heartedly wish that this was not the reality, camps should not be allowed to open this summer.

As a summer camp attendee and enthusiast for over a decade, the news stating that I might have to spend my first summer in 11 years at home is deeply saddening. But who would want to return to camp amidst the Coronavirus craziness?

Many summer camps have been sending optimistic emails with information claiming that camps will open on time–sometime in late June–with some policies changing. Camps claim that there will be testing done the minute campers arrive on campus, there would be a designated building for isolation if any camper were found with the virus and there would be a complete elimination of out-of-camp trips.

But no matter what safety measures are put into place, I think it would be rather difficult to have a camp running amidst the pandemic. Besides the fact that there is still limited access to testing, the overall mood of camp would be somber. The main reason most campers attend summer camp is for the positive energy and elimination of worries, but with the constant fear of the Coronavirus looming, it would be difficult to keep a positive demeanor.

Although there would have to be many changes, the biggest one is the elimination of out-of-camp trips. One of my favorite memories of summer camp was when my age group and I went to Niagara Falls. This was one of the best days of my life, and without being granted the opportunity to do trips like this, I would not have made some of my fondest memories.

Along with that, the standard procedure of keeping six feet distance between all people would defeat the point of camp. At camp, everybody is on top of each other. The bunks are small, the tables are crammed and everyone shares everything.

Camps should not be allowed to open this summer. In order to preserve the fond memory of a carefree and positive place that camp has always been, and to ensure the safety for all the campers and staff members, it would be in everyone’s best interest to skip this summer and reopen when the Coronavirus pandemic has calmed down.