Universities Taking Flu Precautions at Graduations

College students who otherwise would only be thinking about picking up their BA, BS, MBA or PhD are now also worried about picking up H1N1 at their graduation ceremonies.

“As you can see there are thousands of people in here and it ought to tell you shaking hands, touching communal places, that’s how flu spreads,“ says Jared Johnson, a USC graduate going through commencement ceremonies Friday afternoon. “I don’t want to get sick. I don’t want to graduate and get sick and so I’m very worried. And so I will be sanitizing my hands.“

USC made that easy for all of the students. It had several bottles of hand sanitizer that students passed around. USC also had people with large bottles of sanitizer stationed where students waited in line to go across the stage and shake the hands of the university president and their dean.

Clemson put a live stream of its graduation ceremony Friday online so anyone who couldn’t be there, or didn’t want to be because of flu concerns, could watch it. USC also streamed its ceremony live online.

As big an event as a college graduation is, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control is urging everyone to use common sense, for a graduation or any other large gathering.

“If you feel like you’re sick or you are sick, stay home. Don’t go,“ says Thom Berry, spokesman for DHEC. “If you do go to an event, such as a commencement, then if you have to sneeze, if you have to cough, cough into your sleeve. Don’t cough into your hands. If you do, wash your hands often. If you’re around someone that is coughing or that appears to be sick, you may want to stay a little further away from them than normal.“

Not going to graduation never occurred to Robin Nettles, who went to USC’s ceremony to see her son’s future wife graduate. “I’m a registered nurse, so of course I’m always aware of germs and to be cautious. So the only thing I would be concerned about if somebody is coughing a whole lot close to me,“ she says.

USC sent students a list of guidelines and options for them. “If you prefer not to shake hands, you may tip your hat to the president and your dean as you approach them,“ the guidelines say. “You are invited to participate in commencement exercises in August or December in lieu of this May,“ is another option.