‘Nervous, but excited.’ Cal Poly students move in for fall quarter amid COVID precautions
The clatter of green carts rolling along sidewalks reverberated across Cal Poly on Tuesday as thousands of students moved into on-campus housing.
The first day of university housing move-in featured a seemingly endless stream of cars filled with students, parents and residence hall supplies filing onto the San Luis Obispo campus. Volunteers danced to music while enthusiastically directing traffic.
More than 8,000 Cal Poly students are expected to move onto campus this week, according to the university.
About 1,219 students had moved in prior to Tuesday, while 2,926 were scheduled to move in on Tuesday, 1,592 on Wednesday, 1,316 on Friday and 1,031 on Saturday, according to University Housing.
Fall term classes begin on Sept. 20, about 87% of which will be taught in person.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, incoming Cal Poly students were required to show proof of vaccination against the virus and a negative coronavirus test 72 hours before moving in.
As of Sept. 14, about 96% of students living on campus have attested to the university that they are fully vaccinated. Students who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are required to be tested on campus twice a week.
Most students and their entourages wore masks as they unloaded their cars and rolled furniture into their new homes for the fall 2021 quarter, going above and beyond the San Luis Obispo County indoor mask mandate.
New Cal Poly students excited for college
The energy on campus on Tuesday seemed to be excitement mixed with some first-day jitters.
“I’m nervous, but excited, too,” first-year computer science major Felicia Patel said as her mom, aunt and older sister helped her move in.
Patel, who hails from Moulton, Alabama, said she chose to attend Cal Poly rather than accept a full-ride scholarship to New York University because of the classes offered by the San Luis Obispo university and its proximity to tech-centered areas such as Silicon Valley.
Most of her classes at Cal Poly are in person, she said.
“Because Cal Poly is requiring vaccines, I’m not too freaked out about it,” she said. “But it’s definitely a big change from not being in the classroom a lot last year.”
Several students told The Tribune that this fall will be the first time, or one of the first times, that they’ll be back inside a classroom in more than a year.
Many said they remained in fully distanced learning this spring or returned briefly to classrooms in a hybrid format, depending on local restrictions.
“It’s kind of crazy. I haven’t been around so many people all at once in forever,” said first-year biochemistry student Alyssa Hess from Lompoc. “But I’m fine. I’m happy for the normalcy, and I’m glad I get to go to classes in person.”
Holly Pudwill was helping her oldest son, Mason, move into his freshman dorm room on Tuesday.
She said she felt “super excited for him to start this new journey” at Cal Poly. Holly Pudwill and her family drove down from Seattle to San Luis Obispo for move-in day, she said.
“He’s a little far from home, but, yeah, we’re happy for him,” Pudwill said. “We chose this school because of the learn-by-doing style, and so we just feel like in-person is a better fit for that learn-by-doing style. My husband and I are teachers, too, so we understand the safety aspects that need to come with it.”
WOW program ready to welcome new students
Keith Humphrey, Cal Poly vice president for student affairs, said the university’s Week of Welcome (WOW) events will offer plenty of opportunities for students to engage however they’re comfortable.
Should students feel overwhelmed, there will be “relaxation zones” available at the in-person WOW events, he said.
“There’s some natural uneasiness,” Humphrey said. “A lot of our student leaders who were already back on campus have said they’re being extra cautious right now. And we’re all figuring out the way to do it, but we’re in good shape I think.”
Last academic year, about 10% of Cal Poly classes were held in person and about 4,500 students lived on campus. Numerous coronavirus-related precautions made the university “a very safe place,” Humphrey said.
Cal Poly will have similar safety measures in place this year to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. Those include mandatory masks while indoors and COVID testing requirements for unvaccinated students.
Should students exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, they’re strongly encouraged to get tested on-campus. Results can be expected to be returned to students about four hours after they get tested, Humphrey said.
If a student tests positive via an off-campus lab, they should immediately report those results to the university, Humphrey said, so the proper accommodations can be made.
The university has 62 isolation and quarantine beds available for students who test positive for the virus. During their quarantine or isolation, students will be delivered meals and their teachers will work with them to ensure they don’t fall behind on classwork, Humphrey said.
“We’re super excited that the students are here. It’s really fantastic to see the energy,” he said. “It’s just been so long and everybody’s been through a lot. Everybody’s doing the things they need to do to make sure the community stays healthy and safe. And I think we’re going to have a great fall.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 1:58 PM.
