I will start by stating I do not think the blame for what’s happening in Ames lies solely with the Iowa State University (ISU) administration. We all saw this train wreck coming miles away. So what happened? Where did we go wrong?

As a university, we were given a path that inevitably led to failure. Our Board of Regents, local politicians, governor, Congress and the United States of America president have all failed us.

I do not hold grudges against any of them. After all, we are in a global pandemic. One that has flipped the world upside-down and will forever alter the way things have been until now. But looking at this moment in time, who do we hold responsible for the dark numbers we see? Or is anyone really responsible?

I believe our political leaders are to be held responsible. They, along with the Board of Regents here in Iowa, are responsible for the effects their policies have had. Mandating that we have in-person classes was the key ingredient to this disaster we are now experiencing.

We were forced to be in school, and so here we are. Hundreds of students partied it up as usual in that infamous “801 day.” Some students even made comments in a video that ended up on national TV about the pandemic being a hoax, which is not.

Among the Top

This led to Ames becoming number two in the nation in terms of COVID-19 infections in relation to our population. We were first, but got bumped out recently by another college town. This isn’t something to be proud of, and President Wendy Wintersteen understands that. We want to be number one in many things around the country, but COVID-19 infection rate is not one of them. 

It’s a shame, and it’s a clear reflection of the policies our leaders have, day after day, put us through.

I know Wendy is trying. She is trying to navigate the messy politics of having to face tens of thousands of young people, the entire school staff and faculty, donors and the Board of Regents’ directives. I get it. It’s a tough job.

There will be zero solutions that make all stakeholders happy. Even now, she recently backtracked on having fans at the first football game. That was a real mess. I don’t know who thought it would be a good idea to allow 25,000 fans at a football game. The immediate backlash was swift.

This was just another attempt to bring some type of normalcy into our lives. The Board of Regents had decided having the full college experience this fall was a great idea back on April 1. President Wintersteen was just trying to make some of that come true.

Making In-Person Learning Political

Gov. Kim Reynolds was also adamant in having in-person learning. Perhaps this was to gain favor with President Trump. After all, she did speak at the Republican National Convention. 

It was in the middle of July her directive to mandate in-person learning came. It was a surprise to many since her narrative had been that “Iowans know better.”

I suppose when it came to deciding how education would happen in the fall, Iowans did not know better. By the time the proclamation came out, President Trump had made it clear he wanted schools to reopen and in person.

We cannot blame one person for the pandemic, but it seems our official leaders have failed to provide us with good leadership. Their words matter. After President Trump said drinking bleach may help kill the virus, people actually drank it.

Words that turn into policy matter even more. When schools are forced to be onsite, without the proper resources or training, what do we think is going to happen?

Just like students at Iowa State on 801 day. We know exactly what’s going to happen.

Accountability

People are people. We will make mistakes. Yet, it is essential to understand if I’m an elected leader, I am responsible for what I say and what my policies do. If I make a mistake, I need to apologize and try to make it right.  

President Trump may not be responsible for young people getting drunk at a campus party. Still, he is responsible for having policies in place that have set us up for failure. Gov. Reynolds, along with the Board of Regents and other official leaders who stand by without an objection to their policies, are also responsible.

If you are eligible to vote this Nov. 2, I urge you to hold all elected officials accountable for their words, but most importantly for their actions or lack thereof. Some of our lives depend on it.