It seemed inevitable swine flu would hit Athens.
How could it not? Thousands of students live on and off campus at Ohio University. Said students also have a habit of eating poorly, sleeping little and engaging in less than sterile behavior.
With confirmed cases at Miami University and Xavier University more than a month ago, we counted down the days until OU reached a panic. Students visiting friends on those campuses could bring the disease here unknowingly.
The first known case of swine flu for an OU student by an independent testing agency was confirmed on Thursday morning. Considering the mass hysteria of the disease around the country that began last spring, it's an impressive run.
We don't know how large of a role our administrators played in keeping the student body from panicking due to misinformation, but their diligence to getting the message out deserves credit.
Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi and David Hopka, assistant vice president for safety and risk management, worked hard to make it clear to students that the disease is a threat.
Simple as it was, placing posters around campus and in dorms, encouraging students to stay home when sick and working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a focused effort at keeping students safe.
This, when coupled with OU's response to the meningitis scare for students in the dorms last April, proves there's been significant improvement in recent years - especially since Lombardi has joined the administration - at reacting quickly to threats on campus.
As a result, everyone stayed calm, OU's response team looked adept for doing the best it could and, so far, College Green has not been littered with students too sick to make it to class. Considering the news stories about this pandemic from the past six months, that seems like the best we could hope for.
4 Opinion
OU's preparation for swine flu has made the difference on campus
