We talked to Norovirus victims about what it was like

‘I still love Chipotle. Having separation anxiety.’

Finals are a time of year when the community comes together in solidarity with mutual understanding that, despite differences in major, everyone’s dealing with a lot.

But this finals season, the risk of catching Norovirus has added a certain dimension of horror to the experience. If studying for Tresch’s final was hard before, Norovirus has made it infinitely more so.

To the victims of a campus-wide epidemic that had a 1.3 percent chance of happening, we applaud your courage and strength through this trying time. We asked norovictims to answer these three questions:

  1. Describe the norovirus in one word.
  2. What would restore your faith in Chipotle?
  3. What’s worse: Norovirus or finals?

Below are responses from the survivors.

When a norovictim still thought he was dying of E. coli

Brendan, Senior

“The norovirus was horrific.  Norovirus is so much worse than finals.  It was 42 hours of constant pain and I couldn’t eat a full meal for four days after. If Chipotle gave me and all my friends free Chipotle for the rest of our lives, my faith would be restored.”

Katelyn, Junior

“To describe the experience in one word, I would say ‘disappointing’, because I had always loved Chipotle and couldn’t believe it made me that sick, and I was sick for my last weekend at BC until my senior year, as I am going abroad, because of it all.

“I don’t know if my faith in Chipotle could ever be restored, I think I’m going to stay clear of it forever and find some new favorite places to eat.

“And what’s worse: I would say they are about equally painful, finals are just painful over a longer period of time, and the norovirus was a lot of pain for a quick period of time. Having them at the same time was certainly torture.”

Matthew, Senior

Experience: “#SpringBreakBod2k16.”

Faith in Chipotle: “Nothing, I still love Chipotle. Having separation anxiety.”

What’s worse: “Finals. I feel like a grandpa because my back hurts from sitting in shitty chairs all day.

Kailey, Senior

“It was miserable. I wasn’t a huge Chipotle person before (Qdoba is where it’s at), so now they have lost me for good. Noro for sure is worse than finals, but it’s a close race. Finals suck but they are over in a few hours.”

Nicole, Senior

“The norovirus was HORRIBLE. I honestly think it would take a lot of convincing that they went through many tests to ensure the safety of their food. I’m not sure that would even be enough.

“Norovirus is worse than finals, especially for me because I didn’t have any finals. But either way the norovirus was terrible. The first day was by far the worst, but the three or four days after were still miserable trying to eat and such.”

Emily, Senior

The norovirus was “Dreadful. It’s tainted. There’s no going back.”

Which is worse? “Norovirus – because finals don’t put you in the hospital.”

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