How the Liberty League Unanimously Chose to Promote the Spread of COVID-19

Red side versus blue side. Most students know what this means and have experienced it directly. Athletic students tend to stay on the blue side of the dining hall (DHall), while everyone else eats on the red side or in other dining areas. Once I became an upperclassman and stopped eating in DHall, I thought that the cliqueish-ness between athletes and non-athletes would end. I was wrong.

Recently, the Liberty League and its component institutions unanimously announced that intercollegiate competition would be resuming once again. These schools and students would have to follow a “strict” array of guidelines listed here. Certain groups involved in athletics, designated in “Tier 1,” would need to receive a “Negative COVID-19 test required PCR within 72 hours of competition or negative antigen/PCR rapid within 24 hours of competition.” Contradictory, everyone else not designated a “Tier 1” priority (mostly just supporting staff and those not participating in the activity) are not required to have routine COVID-19 testing. In addition, the guidelines mention that “face masks or coverings may be removed while eating or drinking if physical distancing is maintained.”  However, maintaining six feet of distance on a team bench or other high-density areas is not mentioned and is presumably even allowed to be broken for student-athletes during competition. 

According to the Liberty League on March 18th, “Personnel must be required to wear masks at all times except for student-athletes during competition.” This directly contradicts Skidmore protocols designated on January 25th, stating, “Masks must be worn during all practice, competitions, and while on the bus." By agreeing to these rules and voting to participate in Liberty League competition, Skidmore contradicted itself and encouraged the violation of its own safety guidelines. 

The Liberty League document designates an Event Manager to “ensure the implementation of and adherence to the institution’s and league’s Return-to-Play protocols and standards.” However, I doubt one person will be able to watch over both teams, at all times, on and off the field. Even here at Skidmore, I have witnessed campus safety staff ignoring mask and COVID-19 protocols on multiple occasions, such as eating within six feet of each other, masks off, indoors, riding in the same vehicle without masks, and more. How can we ensure that one Event Manager will be able to maintain these guidelines? Besides, how can students be sure that these managers will remain strict on these rules, such as enforcing the drinking of water with a six-foot distance? 

Already, I have seen practices here at Skidmore with students wearing neck-gators instead of the college required cloth or surgical-type masks and not maintaining social distancing when possible. 

I have even witnessed other institutions doing this first-hand. While traveling to conduct my scientific capstone research at Whiteface Mountain Ski Center, several St. Lawrence University Alpine Ski Team students were not following resort or university mask guidelines and were interacting, hugging, talking to each other while within six feet –  inside and for a prolonged period. Although their alpine ski team is not a direct Liberty League designated sport, their actions made an impression on me– although rules are technically in place, they will not always be followed. 

Arguably, the most astounding result of this issue is the double-standard held by the athletics community to other students on campus. As more and more students on campus get vaccinated, and as new CDC guidelines roll out, you would think that all campus activities would shift to a regime such as determined by the Liberty League and athletics, yet, that is not the case. 

Dance clubs and other performance groups are required to maintain twelve feet of distance at all times and remain masked. Students living off-campus cannot visit students living on campus. In general, clubs are restricted from hosting events off-campus, even if transportation to and from and the event itself would maintain CDC guidelines. Club sports such as Ultimate Frisbee or Quidditch are required to maintain distance at all times and remain masked, all while official Liberty League sports, in competition, are allowed to proceed without a mask. 

The argument of staff supervision is also a lousy one. How is one coach or Event Manager supposed to magically stop the transmission of a virus when students are playing sports maskless? Suppose it is safe enough for Liberty League athletes to participate in sports, which is much higher risk than normal campus activities. This also means coming within six feet of other students from different institutions after being held to the same testing standards as other, non athlete students. Why hasn’t the campus started following the same guidelines? Here's a hint: it isn't safe. 

If just one of the other team members has an inaccurate test result, lied about a result to be able to play, or if one of the athletics staff not required to receive COVID tests had been positive, the virus could spread rapidly between competitors as well as other students due to these regulations. Although these may seem like unlikely events, why even risk it in the first place? 

This brings me to my last point: is continuing sports worth further dividing the Skidmore community? Is it worth potentially starting super spreader events? Is it worth holding athletes to a lower standard than all other students and faculty? I think not. Sports that are inherently unable to follow COVID guidelines should not be played. This is not an attack on athletes who play those sports or on those whose jobs revolve around these sports. It is just looking at it from a different perspective. Students are currently not allowed to interact with other students maskless, let alone travel to other institutions to interact with students from those campuses. The implementation of in-person events that actively promotes this, all while performing a higher-risk activity, seems baffling. 

This calls into question all of the statements that have been released by our College administration so far. Does Skidmore only care about how outsiders perceive us or about what goes on? Do donations related to current or former athletes matter more than student safety? What drove Skidmore, as well as the other schools, to unanimously accept these objectively unsafe protocols? Although we will likely never find the real answer, these are questions that are important to ask. If you are also concerned about campus athletics, or if you believe that they should continue, feel free to contribute to this conversation.