Skip to main content There are not words - Balcones Heights officer gets chance to thank medical team who helped save him
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Dr. Umar Khan, left, shakes hands with Balcones Heights Police Sgt. Joey Sepulveda as Sepulveda returned to the Methodist Hospital | Texsan to thank the staff for his care after being wounded in the line of duty.Robin Jerstad /ContributorShow MoreShow Less
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Balcones Heights Police Sgt Joey Sepulveda, who was wounded in the line of duty, pauses to collect his thoughts Wednesday while thanking the staff of Methodist Hospital | Texsan for the care they provided.Robin Jerstad /ContributorShow MoreShow Less
February 23, 2021 at 6:00 am
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we know the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads easily through large indoor gatherings and communal living spaces. A person can become infected, spread the virus to friends, family, teachers or coworkers, and
then start exhibiting symptoms several days later or never show any signs of infection.
With these kinds of risks, a college campus seems like one of the more dangerous places to spend time. In fact, U.S. counties with large colleges or universities that offered in-person instruction last fall saw a 56 percent rise in COVID-19 cases in the three weeks after classes began compared with the three weeks before. Counties with large schools that offered only remote learning saw a drop in cases of almost 18 percent, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on January 8 in
Rice University
Mel Xiao, a Rice University senior who helps investigate and adjudicate COVID-19 rule violations by other students, doesn’t mind if she’s viewed by her peers as “big brother” on campus.
Xiao is one of 11 students at Rice who served as a judge on the COVID Community Court, or CCC, a student-led judiciary that looks into reports of students neglecting to wear masks or socially distance, or who are hosting visitors in their dorm rooms, which are violations of the university’s Culture of Care Agreement for the 2020-21 academic year. A three-judge panel hears and investigates each low-level COVID-19-related violation and doles out “educational” punishments, such as writing an apology letter or hanging up posters that promote public health measures in their dorm, said Emily Garza, director of student judicial programs at Rice.