The only thing we have to fear...

Yes, my daughter attended her final swim lesson at Amherst College. Living in fear is no way to live. One of the great advantages of living in the greatest county on earth is that when we declare war on something, we win.

Sent: Fri, 1 May 2009 2:52 pm

Subject: Saturday Swim Lessons

Greetings from the Amherst Pool!

We will be having the final Saturday lessons as scheduled tomorrow. We are aware of the cases of swine flu on the Amherst campus but after speaking with administrators who have been in constant communication with medical personnel, we are comfortable conducting lessons as usual since none of our instructors have been affected. We are encouraging them to take all necessary precautions and to find a substitute instructor if they are not feeling well.

If you and your children are healthy we encourage you to come for the last day but if you have doubts about your health we ask that you please do not attend your lesson.

We hope to see you healthy tomorrow!

Thank you again for participating in our swim lesson program!

Sincerely,

Karin Brown
Assistant Men's and Women's Swimming Coach
Amherst College


Well I guess not everyone showed up:
Monday, May 4:

Thank you for your notification. As I'm sure with other parents, we decided
to keep our children home. We were not comfortable sending our kids after
reading all the precautions that are being taken to protect other AC
students from infection. The swimming classes have been great and it was
unfortunate that you could not have postpone the lesson for the following
Saturday.

We also were not comfortable with your statement, "We are encouraging
them to take all necessary precautions and to find a substitute
instructor if they are not feeling well."  It would have felt better if you
said something like, "Any staff who is not feeling well will not teach."
Parents need clear supportive statements.  Thank you.