IU Bloomington lays out plans for student move-in
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — Thousands of college students will be converging on one Indiana spot this month in the middle of a pandemic — Indiana University. The largest university in the state is preparing for move-in day this Sunday.
IU plans to phase in the arrival of students. Students will be checked for the coronavirus, so if you want to get to campus this semester, you’ll need a test. If you want to stay on campus, you need to be prepared to get tested again.
Tyler Martin is just one of thousands of incoming freshmen at IU.
“I’m really excited to go to college!” Martin said. “I’m ready for that self-independence, ready to get out of the house.”
But his excitement is tempered a bit this year since he won’t be moving in all at once. The university is encouraging students who live in Indiana or its bordering states to drop off their belongings, leave, and return August 20. If that’s not possible, students will have the option to move in all at once.
“I think it’s the right choice,” Martin said. “They kind of want to stagger it out I think to obviously keep other people safe.”
When students plan to move themselves in, they need to have a negative COVID test from within the previous 10 days and then they’ll be tested again when they arrive at school.
If students test positive and can’t go home, IU has set aside 563 single dorm rooms for quarantining purposes. Those students will be provided linens and wear scrubs if they need to use the restroom or go outdoors at a scheduled time.
IU will be doing random and strategic tests throughout the year to make sure they catch any on-campus positives.
“With our overall goal hopefully of getting to test all students, at least on-campus students at least once a week,” IU director of surveillance and mitigation Dr. Aaron Carroll said. “And then all faculty and staff regularly. So, yes, we’re talking about doing screening and surveillance of asymptomatic students, faculty and staff quite regularly throughout the semester.”
As for Martin, he says he’s got his pre-arrival COVID test and drop-off date scheduled. And he says he feels safe.
“I’m mainly worried about us getting sent back, sent back home, quite frankly,” Martin said. “And that’s pretty much it. Obviously the health and safety of others is the top priority, but it would be a really big disappointment if we got sent home early.”
IU says going home shouldn’t be a concern as long as students wear masks, follow guidelines and don’t hold large parties. And they’ve all signed forms saying they’d follow those rules.
“The dean of students has told me that he is not going to be shy about summarily suspending students who violate these ordinances and regulations,” IU Bloomington COVID response unit lead Kirk White said.
Students will begin moving in Sunday and they will slowly fill the university each day until the Aug. 23.