Ross said he asked student leaders to organize virtual events during welcome week. They also organized socially distanced sip-and-paint events and held Greek fraternity and sorority step shows with mask-wearing steppers, of course. The closeout event for welcome week was an outdoor comedy show, which students watched in socially distanced lawn chairs. It was hugely popular, but it created some problems.
The crowd grew larger, and even though the students wore masks, they got too physically close to one another, Ross said.
"I did have to send out a notice to remind them of the rules," he said. "The note admired them but also admonished them."
NCA&T also ran into problems during welcome week but quickly got things under control, Simmons said.
"We continue to be pleased with how disciplined our students are being and that they are avoiding situations that can put them and others at risk," he said. "We've gone to extreme lengths to do this."
That includes the decision to formally open the campus on July 1 starting with an extended welcome week. Rather than the two-day orientation program normally held for new students and their parents, the university combined it with move-in week and required students to remain until the fall semester formally began on Aug. 19. The second week was reserved for returning students to move in on staggered days and hours to accommodate spacing. They were also required to stay for the start of the semester.
NCA&T reserved a residence hall to quarantine students. The building has capacity for 200 students, but administrators have restricted capacity to 98 to ensure additional social distancing. Just five students, all asymptomatic, were housed there as of Sept. 15. (Only students who live on campus are required to quarantine in the designated building.) The building is staffed with security guards round the clock that control access to the building, Simmons said.
As necessary as these proactive steps were, efforts to prevent community spread of the coronavirus could not work without the cooperation and support of the students, said Martin. They not only police themselves but also try to
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