COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The University of Maryland has moved all undergraduate classes online until at least Sept.14, but hundreds of freshmen started moving into College Park residence halls on Thursday anyway.
Maryland is hoping to avoid the fate of other colleges that have seen spikes in COVID cases as soon as students returned.
Linda Kaner dropped her son, Noah, off at College Park, but it wasn't clear if he was more worried about her or she was more worried about him. Linda Kaner is recovering from ovarian cancer, and 19-year-old Noah Kaner is moving into a single room at Denton Hall.
"I keep hand sanitizer, gloves, masks -- I'm leaving ten masks behind," Linda Kaner said.
Maryland is requiring all students to be tested for coronavirus both before and after they arrive. The university reports on it's COVID dashboard that 3,832 people were tested last week, with just five new cases -- a .1% positivity rate, which is better than the surrounding community. But there could be many more tests coming this week.
Students will all be living in single rooms, which previously housed up to four young people.
"We have a little concern about COVID," Linda Kaner said. "We hope he's safe. We've discussed it, and he'll give it his best shot."
I" don't have many in-person classes," Noah Kaner added. "So I'm not that worried about in class, more about the dorms."
Housekeepers in the dorms have filed a labor complaint against the university, alleging it should be doing more to keep them safe. And in the town of College Park, some residents are worried the return of students will mean the return of parties that have plagued other college towns.
But for now, everyone seems to be hoping for the best.
"He's very happy not to be home with us," Linda Kaner said. "That's the most important factor right here."
Towson University in Baltimore County just switched to entirely online classes for the fall semester after nearly 70 students, faculty and staff tested positive for coronavirus.
