The entire Allegheny College community has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis: truly, none of us expected to not be able to return to campus for the remainder of the semester. In particular, a large majority of students did not expect to have to pack all of their personal belongings prior to leaving for spring break as the college made no indication or suggestion to do so. As a result, many of us students left a majority of our personal belongings on campus, hoping that we may be able to return after break. We continued to hope to retrieve our personal items even as the COVID-19 crisis exploded, causing us to remain home for the latter half of the second semester. 

With the announcement of Allegheny College's plan for the process of retrieving personal items, many of us as students are left extremely distraught. Some of us did not pack accordingly to enough clothing to last us until the fall semester, so as a result, we have no other choice but to pay for shipping for these items. Those of us in this position sincerely feel overlooked by the college. A number of us, too, feel serious, undue anxiety at the thought of people they have never met handling their items. We also fear the mishandling of items, especially regarding losses and damages. Conversely, some of us students, particularly those that are not seniors, have plans to not return in the fall and feel as though the college is forcing them to pay for a situation entirely out of their control. In summation, there are many special and personal cases that are causing us, as individuals, to fear for the handling of our items, be it from shipping costs or simply not being able to handle our items. Yet, the sheer amount of special cases creates a feeling of fear and indignation throughout the student body. 

Keeping the student body in mind, we are asking that the college reevaluate their proposed plans in such a way that students may safely retrieve their own items. We miss the community on campus, and although we are passionate about retrieving our items personally, we understand the need for extreme safety regarding COVID-19. We might suggest waiting until Crawford County has exited the yellow phase, or, instead, issuing a strict schedule and capacity limits for buildings while providing temperature checks upon entry and requiring the use of masks, as we feel the college might be able to provide students with personal protective equipment if they are providing them to employees. Ultimately, again, we are requesting that Allegheny College reevaluate their current plans and work with the student body's safety and needs in mind so that we may personally retrieve our items.