Penn State Students Offer Differing Views on Return to Campus

Story posted February 3, 2021 in CommRadio, News by Emily Grill

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Residents living on campus at Penn State are expected to move back in for the spring semester by Feb. 15.

Initially, the move-in date for individuals living on campus was expected to be Jan. 19. However, due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, President Eric Barron, along with other University Park administrators, decided to push the date back about a month.

Every student planning to live on campus this semester is required to take a COVID-19 test, ensuring that they test negative before their arrival. This was not required for everyone last semester and is part of Penn State’s added precautions to ensure safety among all students.

A few students expressed concern about the regulations associated with the pandemic and on-campus housing.

Freshman Lindsey Kramer, majoring in speech pathology, lives in Packer Hall, located in the East Halls section of campus. She is looking forward to coming back to Penn State but remains cautious of what’s to come.

“I am very excited to be back on campus,” Kramer said. “But COVID made it a little hard to hang out with my friends and meet new people.”

Sophomore Brendan Kishbaugh, a major in civil engineering, lives in Hoyt Hall, which is a part of South Residence Halls. Kishbaugh is also looking forward to returning to campus but is worried about the isolation that comes with COVID.

“I am anxious to get back to campus,” Kishbaugh said. “My roommate decided to stay home last semester, so it got kind of lonely because I wasn’t allowed to go into any other building besides my own.”

Freshman Michelle Dakis, majoring in sociology, lived in Tener in East Halls and decided to not return to campus this semester.

“Tener was a nice building, but COVID made on-campus housing a lot less enjoyable because of all the rules,” Dakis said. “I wanted to save money, so I decided to stay home this semester.”

There is no doubt that the coronavirus has made things inconvenient for everyone.

Students like Kramer and Kishbaugh plan on continuing to make the most out of the situation and look forward to returning to their on-campus housing this semester.

“I miss being on campus and the excitement that comes with it,” Kramer said.

“I’m ready to go back, have fun, and take opportunities, despite the pandemic,” Kishbaugh added.

 

Emily Grill is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email exg5292@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

Emily Grill's photo

Emily Grill

Sophomore / Broadcast Journalism

Emily Grill is a second-year from Scotch Plains, New Jersey majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. She is an anchor and writer for the CommRadio news department. In addition, she is a founder and correspondent for Centre News Digest. This past summer, she interned with TAPinto Scotch Plains/Fanwood, her town’s local newspaper, where she reported and published stories daily. If you’d like to contact her, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).