Penn State Students Excited To Be Back On-Campus Amid Pandemic
Many Penn State students were happy to hear the school announce late on Dec. 30 that the spring semester would be an in-person experience.
The omicron variant has been on the rise across the nation and led to many schools having to decide on how they would like to start their semester. Penn State has seen a growth in positivity rates from one percent just before winter break to roughly nine percent upon return.
However, students won’t be stopped from enjoying their semester. Since the start on Jan. 10, we’ve seen groups of people gathered at the HUB lawn playing in the snow, bars reaching capacity with some lines spanning more than four buildings wide and sylly week shenanigans.
For second-year students, their introduction to campus last year was quite the opposite of what campus life is normally like. The decision to allow the semester to be in-person grants those students a full year of the full Penn State experience.
Madison Harkins is a second-year student studying marketing. She is happy to be back and is ready for life to return to normal after a not too fun first year.
“Last year, I was only on campus for the fall. I just sat in my dorm room, didn’t leave, didn’t do anything. I actually ended up studying from home for the spring.” Harkins said. “But, this year I definitely have been going out more and getting involved more with the school.”
There have been talks of the school possibly moving remote if there is a surge in cases. Isabella Ferreira, a second-year Earth, Science and Policy student, is optimistic about this semester being in-person and feels safe with the return.
“Penn State is more prepared now. I feel they have more precautions in place and students will have more resources to come to if they are exposed.”
Deitric Murphy is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email dsm5653@psu.edu
