COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Ahead of the return of limited in-person learning at the University of Maryland this week, the student body president at UMD spoke with WUSA9 on Sunday about the feelings around campus on the pandemic and going back to the classroom.
Starting on Monday, around 15% of undergraduate classes will hold in-person lessons on campus.
For Student Government Association President Dan Alpert, the start of fall semester with online learning has already led to plenty of adjustments for those on campus.
"Already in the first two weeks, it’s been a very different experience being a student," he said. "Especially living on campus, I describe every day feeling like a Sunday morning walking around campus. No one is really out.”
Alpert is now in his senior year and planning to graduate with a degree in marketing.
After being elected student body president and holding discussions with fellow campus leaders over the summer, Alpert said he and many other students felt more comfortable continuing to learn online instead of in a classroom.
"The perception overall is that students -- if they can do it (learn) online -- would prefer that," he said. "I’d rather sit at my desk and do it over Zoom then wearing a mask in a classroom and it just being a weird experience.”
According to the official University of Maryland statistics, over 140 coronavirus tests done on campus have come back positive in the month of September.
The university is also offering special quarantine and isolation housing for students.
As of Saturday, 113 of 149 units were occupied.
While none of Alpert's classes are returning for in-person learning this week, he said his concerns with the spread of the virus would lead to him taking special precautions.
"For me, I’d pick a seat in the back corner of the classroom if I had to," he said. "I personally would not want to be in a classroom yet and I want to make sure that if I am in a classroom that I have adequate spacing.”
WUSA9 spoke to other students on campus this week, with some echoing Alpert's views while others voiced excitement at classes feeling a bit more normal.
The students shared mixed feedback when asked how seriously fellow classmates were following social distancing and mask guidelines.
Laura England said she and her floormates were making sure to keep gatherings small.
"We were up in the dorms earlier and we kept with the seven-person maximum capacity," she said. "Most people are wearing masks unless they’re just chilling on the lawn with a good distance around them.”
Others, like junior David Caceres, told WUSA9 that many students were still going out and putting their health at risk.
"Other friends that I know go to these kickbacks, these parties and take off their masks," he said. "I want to go back to a normal life pre-COVID-19 but that can’t be possible with everyone breaking these rules every day.”
At least one business near the school voiced concerns about lines at bars and said many students waiting in line allegedly don't put their masks on until they get near the entrance.
On Sunday, Alpert spoke highly of how Greek organizations on campus were responding to the pandemic.
With so many changes still unfolding, Alpert hopes to use his term as SGA president keeping fellow students safe and healthy.
"Being president this year, there’s a lot of cool opportunities that past presidents have had and a lot of cool people past presidents have been able to meet at in-person meetings that I won’t have," the senior said. "At the end of the day, if we can get our state, school and our country to be safer and to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, I’d rather have that.”