University of Kentucky students are moving in. An unprecedented semester awaits them.
Quarantined in her dorm room, University of Kentucky junior and resident adviser Allison Parks was bummed that she couldn’t assist her fellow hall staff in moving new students into dorms on Saturday.
Nearly 134 days ago, the vast majority of dorm-dwelling students vacated campus in an emergency move to online learning that was forced by the spread of the coronavirus. On Saturday, about 1,000 completely masked students, mostly freshmen, arrived on the UK campus to move into dorms. They’re among the first wave of about 6,500 students who will move into dorms over the next week and prepare for an unprecedented college experience.
Parks will be among the first UK students to begin her semester fully online and fully confined. UK’s HealthCorps, one of the teams powering the university’s ambitious plan to test and contact trace all of its students arriving on campus this fall, identified a UK student as positive for COVID-19. Unfortunately, that student came into contact with Parks — triggering her 14-day quarantine. Parks previously tested negative.
Since her isolation began Wednesday, Parks said in a phone interview that UK staff have dropped off three meals a day — which have been quite good, she said. Her room includes a bathroom, so Parks, a human health sciences and kinesiology dual degree major, did not have to go to one of the university’s designated quarantine dorms. She spends her days watching TV, playing digital card games and waiting for classes to start on Aug. 17.
“It’s been very smooth and efficient so far,” Parks said of her experience in quarantine. “I hope that when the majority of students get back on campus it can stay that way. There haven’t been any questions. They’ve been very transparent and that’s been really nice for someone who is on the receiving end of all this stuff.”
UK’s mass testing of students who will be on campus began last week and will last through Aug. 22. Employees will be able to get free testing starting Monday. The university has publicly released results through three days of testing. Of 4,950 students tested, 31 were positive for the respiratory virus. Students report that testing is smooth, but many are still concerned about the university’s ability to prevent infection coming from an off-campus party or bar.
What will UK’s dorms be like?
Parks’ isolation isn’t the only experience unique to a pandemic campus. Tofunmi Oyetan, a sophomore international student from Nigeria, told the Herald-Leader last week that her country’s border closed early in the pandemic and she’s had to spend her whole summer on campus.
“I have felt homesick,” Oyetan said. “I haven’t seen my family for like a year now. I just have to stay positive.”
A resident adviser, like Parks, Oyetan said she’ll partially be in charge of keeping the students on the floor of her dorm socially distanced. Parks said she is confident in UK’s plans and health protocols around its campus reopening this fall. Down on the sidewalks outside dorms, many of the students moving in shared her optimism.
“I’m terrified,” said mechanical engineering freshman Luke Daugherty, who clarified that he was more “terrified” about the prospect of starting college in a tough engineering major than of the pandemic. “The pandemic is more our concern,” his parents said from his side.
“Everything’s well spaced out. UK promised they have a lot of stuff in place,” Daugherty said. “They have a very good system, so I’m not too worried about that.”
The areas inside dorms were well spaced out and orderly, making move-in smooth, parents and students interviewed Saturday said. UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said dorms have reduced capacity — about 1,000 fewer students will move in this year. In dorms, no student will have to share a bedroom and no more than two will share a bathroom. Dorm-living students will have restricted visitation with only up to two visitors at a time, Blanton said, but both have to be other UK students.
Eumin Shin, an accounting freshman from Morehead, will have a roommate of sorts. Her 11-week-old support dog, Prada, will be with her as she works through a completely online class schedule from her dorm room. Shin said she’s thankful she’s living in a dorm and won’t be in classrooms. She predicted most infection might come from off campus or students attending in-person classes.
Students are greeted by hand sanitizer stations at nearly every door and plexiglass at every public-facing desk. Every student will get a wellness kit containing cloth masks, sanitizer and a thermometer. Blanton said last week that the university has spent upwards of $5 million in health and safety equipment.
It’s unlikely that the university’s full 30,000-student complement will be on campus this fall, as many online-only students won’t have to be on campus at all.
What happens if a UK student doesn’t wear a mask?
Every day on campus, students and employees will be prompted to fill out an online symptom questionnaire through a wellness app on their phones, Blanton said. When a student or employee tells the app that they have one or more symptoms compatible with COVID-19, the university’s HealthCorps is notified and will ask the person to learn or teach remotely for the day. If symptoms persist, the symptomatic person will put in contact with a healthcare provider.
According to the university, over two-thirds of all classes will have at least some in-person component. Several students have expressed frustration in recent weeks as many have learned that many of their courses will be taught online.
Classroom capacity will also be reduced, and professors of larger lecture classes have been forced to break them up into smaller in-person groups. Blanton said some faculty have already planned to teach parts of their classes outdoors. Masks will be required virtually everywhere, save for while alone or eating.
Faculty have been given a “script” for how to deal with non-compliant students. The script from the university’s main disciplinary office— the Office of Student Conduct — instructs faculty to tell students without a mask to put one on or leave the classroom.
If a student consistently refuses both, then the instructor is supposed to call campus police. After the class or event, faculty will have to submit a report to UK’s Office of Student Conduct.
“As a note, do not threaten to call UKPD if you are not willing to make the call,” read one line of the document provided to the Herald-Leader.
A non-compliant student could be charged with a Student Code of Conduct violation depending on the specific incident, and the disciplinary office will meet with the student.
“The Office of Student Conduct’s goal in our first meeting is largely educational, explaining why the expectation exists and finding a way the student can comply in the future,” Blanton wrote in a statement. “This will likely come with at least an informal or official warning. Ongoing incidents of refusal to wear a face covering and attending class in person could result in more severe outcomes, including conduct probation. Each step will come with some sort of educational outcome. The outcome of a specific incident is based on the unique facts of the case.”
Students who can’t wear masks because of health reasons should contact the university’s Disability Resources Center, where staff there can help the student explore other options, Blanton said.
‘Wear your masks’
Throughout the rest of campus, large outdoor tents will function as socially distant gathering spots, Blanton said. Students could possibly eat in them and classes could be taught under the tents. In the William T. Young Library, the university’s largest, study tables usually made for six chairs were reduced to just two. The university has also spaced out outdoor chairs around the campus and will be installing “hammock gardens.”
From her dorm room confinement, Parks had a message for UK’s on-campus students this fall:
“Wear your masks. Be mindful of the people you’re around. Even though they might be a really nice person and you want to hang out with them, just keep in mind you need to be following safety protocols, physical distancing.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2020 at 4:22 PM.