EAST LANSING, Mich. – With classes completely being held on the World Wide Web for the Spartans in the era of COVID-19, there are going to be many who need to make some last-minute changes -- Including the Resident Assistant’s or RA’s who’ve already transitioned for the semester.
Aug. 19, 2020: Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 94,278; Death toll now at 6,349
“We had moved in about August 15th and then now three days after that move in, we were told that we were going entirely online. We’re still in the dark right now,” said Troy Distelrath.
Distelrath is just one of the countless students looking forward to a traditional campus lifestyle. But just like so many others, He was disappointed seeing the email from the school president announcing there will be no in-person learning this fall.
“The fundamentals of the virus haven’t changed in the four days since all of us moved in. So it’s kind of a tax on the time and the resources and the emotions of all of his student employees that have moved in already,” added, Distelrath.
Jerry Cortez, who’s another RA is just worried about the students who use on-campus housing as a resource.
“When it comes to giving a service, to students, there are people here I think that still want to call this home. We should still be able to give that to some capacity,” said Cortez.
And if the resident assistants are frustrated. You can make the assumption that students who are utilizing off campus housing who’ve had to sign leases for the school year. School president, Dr. Samuel Stanley addressed that today during a virtual discussion.
“We really feel sorry for them. My hope is that the landlords in the area will be receptive to students who are caught, particularly those who may be in financial need. It something that we’ve talked to them about. We really are concerned about students who have been caught by this,” said Dr. Stanley.
There may be limited exceptions for students who may still need to be on campus. All that is still up in the air. Students who have already paid a housing fee will be refunded.