The expected spread of swine flu is prompting many cautionary moves among those who want to prevent widespread infection.
Most of those are laudable. But the apparent decision by some University of Colorado professors to tell students to drop classes if they get the flu is a step too far.
Surely students have missed classes before, and there must be a way to accommodate legitimate absences in the name of public health.
To that end, CU officials are getting the word out to faculty and staff that they shouldn’t be telling students to drop classes if they get sick.
We understand absences might pose some difficulties in certain situations, such as science laboratories that must be completed before other parts of a course can be taken.
It may be necessary to schedule makeup labs in the evening or at other odd times to give sick students a chance to catch up.
It is important to do that, so infected students won’t be tempted to venture to class with a fever, spreading the flu to others.
For most people, the swine flu is a miserable experience, yet in its present form it’s not much different from any other flu. However, it can be deadly for pregnant women and people with underlying conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
We all should follow the Centers for Disease Control’s vaccination recommendations, stay at home when we’re sick, and encourage frequent handwashing.
Taking actions to slow the spread of infection is part of being a responsible citizen.
But such precautionary moves must be grounded in medical science, guided by common sense and augmented with flexibility.
