In a typical year, the Saturday before college classes start are part celebration, part chaos.
Saturday, the difference was palpable.
By Saturday morning, the bulk of residential students at Mississippi State and Mississippi University for Women had already moved into their residence halls. For those who arrived Saturday, the students who moved into their rooms did so with little fanfare or fuss.
On the MUW campus, Antuan Tillman of West Point was one of the 18 students who had yet to move in at Kincannon Hall, which houses 104 students.
At Mississippi State, about a half dozen pulled up to the curb to check in at MSU’s Critz Hall during the 11 a.m. time slot.
“It’s a lot different this year,” Danielle Richardson, an MUW junior, who was moving into her room at Jones hall. “Last year, everybody was moving in at the same time.”
At both campuses, the traditional “Move-in Day” became “Move-in Week” as students made appointments for move-in and began arriving on Monday.
MSU, which scheduled move-ins in hourly increments, had 700 students scheduled for Saturday. At MUW, only a few dozen students had yet to take up residency on campus by Saturday morning.
The change in the move-in procedure is among the many changes students will encounter as classes commence on both campuses Monday as the universities implement guidelines and procedures designed to combat COVID-19.
“I think the biggest change will be that we’ll be more to ourselves,” said Tillman, who is returning to The W after a six-year break from classes. “In a way, that might be a good thing. I think for me it will keep me more focused.”
For Richardson, the biggest changes will be moving from in-person to online classes.
“I changed my major last year, so I’m trying to catch up,” she said. “I have seven classes, and six of them are online. But where I live, we don’t have internet access, so I had to come here even though I won’t be in classrooms hardly at all.”
For parents, sending their children off to school already creates its share of anxieties. The threat of COVID-19 adds another.
Danielle’s mom, Emma Richardson, said she plans to stay in touch with her daughter like never before.
“I’ve already told her I’ll be calling every day,” she said. “And every day, it’s going to the same message. Wear your mask. Social distance. Be smart.”
“As a parent, you always worry a little,” said William Moore, who helped his daughter, Jordan, move into Critz Hall at MSU. Moore said he had confidence his daughter would take the COVID-19 requirements seriously.
“Wear a mask, I tell her, and I think she will,” Moore said. “She’s a freshman, but she’s pretty mature for her age. I’m confident she’ll follow the rules, She knows what to do and what’s expected of her.”
Jordan Moore said the virus hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm for starting college.
“It’s still exciting,” she said. “I’m not worried. I’m ready to get started.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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