Adam Holland

On August 30, Delaware State University officials welcomed students back to in-person classes, amid COVID-19 surge sweeping across the United States.

For the first time in roughly two years, Delaware State returned to in-person, face-to-face teaching. With the Delta variant looming, DSU, as well as many other universities across the nation, opened their campuses with hopes to usher in a “new normal” in the upcoming school year. The university, located in Dover, looks to continue the weekly testing protocols paired with the mandatory masks mandate to ensure the safety of all.

Students who are fully vaccinated will be tested once per week. Those who are unvaccinated are required to test twice per week. The testing is required for all persons attending the university.

More students in the classroom means more students living on campus. Students referred to the campus as a “ghost town” when the restrictions put a halt to seemingly all campus activities last year. Sophomore, Christina Cooper, detailed her freshman year, “It was different, I felt like I wasn’t in school and it was frustrating. Trying to have fun when you’re not really allowed to was a struggle for my freshman year”

No football games. No homecoming. No fun. The return of students pushes administration to cultivate a positive college experience for all of their students, including the recently acquired Wesley College students. 

In a recent interview, Associate Vice President of Facilities Management, Herman Wood, stated, “Having the students back is wonderful for every person involved at DSU. However, this is where the real work starts.” Wood, who oversees the facilities management, planning and construction, shouldered the load of maintaining the residence halls during move-in week. 

“Many of these buildings haven’t been used in months–the air conditioning, pipes, sulfur levels and other housing amenities won’t return to normal until the end of the first week, meaning, I have a lot of emails to answer,” Wood added when describing the state of the residence halls.

Delaware State looks to house and accommodate all of its students, while providing each with a satisfactory college experience. The pandemic alters many of the decisions going forward; however, the university has guidelines for campus living, which can be found on their website: COVID-19 Campus Operations Policy.