A new record for #COVID cases in McLean County.

Folks will be blaming college students for this. Before you join in, please consider...

1) You could have plopped down 25,000 50-year-olds into our community and you still would have seen spikes in case numbers. When you add total population, you will add total positive cases. That's a math problem, not a Gen Z problem.

2) I was around town this summer before the students showed back up. My anecdotal evidence suggests there were plenty of older folks not following safety protocol. There is no statistical proof that 20-year-olds are less likely to wear masks or social distance than the rest of us

3) In many situations, government has created scenarios in which students must be unsafe while socializing. Underage drinkers are cooped up in tiny apartments because they know the cops will hassle them if they're outside. Stop enforcing such rules if you want them to be safer.

4) Consider the fact that more people are being tested now because these institutions have provided students with an enormous amount of testing resources. ISU has testing at Student Health Services for those with symptoms and for any student various other places on campus.

5) Your age does not give your moral superiority. Try to have even the SLIGHTEST bit of empathy. We're asking 20-year-olds to give up their social lives. Think about your own decision-making when you were 20, and ask yourself what you would do.