As colleges begin the semester or their quarter whether in person or remotely, things look a bit different. As a facilities assistant at DePaul University, I work with the residential assistants and one of our most important jobs is assisting college students during move in days. That means being a resource to them, making sure the facilities in their dorm rooms are working properly and making sure they are safe. This is still the job description despite having a significant cut in the number of residents at this university. Before, it use to be 2,500 residents would stay on campus and now the number of residents is near the 350 mark. With the COVID-19 pandemic altering life as we know it, things look strange this upcoming school year.
One piece that made college move ins tricky was the Emergency Travel Order the city of Chicago conducts. Since DePaul is located in Chicago, students on campus must abide by these rules. Certain states that has seen a surge in COVID cases such as Florida and California this past summer are placed on this list. With the new order states placed in this list must conduct a 14 day self quarantine upon arrival in Chicago.Students coming from these states had to agree to do a 14 day quarantine in their dorm room or a seven day quarantine outside of campus and completing another seven day quarantine in their dorms with proof of a previous week long quarantine from their desired location. That means move in packets containing their keys, move in information and wristbands for identifying residents were placed in their rooms and the room was left unlocked until the resident came to provide as little contact with people as possible. During the quarantine the university provided meals that were placed outside the dorm room at no extra cost, free wifi and television and virtual events such as workouts and other activities such as Zoom Netflix parties or virtual meet and greets.
Masks will continue to be enforced in the residence halls and that includes move in days until whenever the conditions and nature of this virus improve will determine when masks are optional. Also, during a college move in a maximum of two guests are allowed to assist the residents with moving. In the past there was no limit to how many people can help students move in. You would be seeing the entire family help with moving in such as the mother, father, brothers, sisters and the grandparents. On the topic of guests, during fall quarter guests from other halls and schools are not allowed. The university will be reevaluating these rules at the end of fall quarter. Also, floor meetings that were once done in person are now done on Zoom. Before, students would all gather together in a common area to hear the rules and regulations the residence hall has provided.
College move ins as you can see looks different than before. It has been frustrating with these new rules since the rules with COVlD-19 are always changing. Despite these new rules housing and the residential education department all want their students to succeed and do well all while being safe. It is disappointing to say the least especially the incoming freshmen who missed out on their graduation and final semester as a senior. For now, we must be safe and vigilant.