SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – San Diego State University on Friday welcomed students back to campus ahead of the school’s first day of in-person instruction.
The writing on the windows at the campus bookstore said it all: “Welcome Aztecs, We’re happy to see you!”
SDSU senior Hailea Stone described what it was like to be back at school for the fall semester after spending the last year online, telling ABC 10News, “It’s definitely weird. I had to come the other day to remind myself where some of the buildings were on campus. I’m seeing freshmen and seniors walking on campus trying to navigate again.”
With the return to in-person classes, the university has made some big changes for this fall as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
SDSU is requiring all students and staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or they’ll have to get tested every week.
The school added the precautions to try and prevent COVID-19 outbreaks on campus, which is what SDSU dealt with last fall, when there were more than 1,000 cases among students and staff in the first month of the semester.
Freshman Euan McIntire said the university is taking things seriously. Even before he could move into the dorms from New Jersey, he had to submit a negative COVID-19 test.
McIntire said, “I got one, I uploaded it a few days before I moved in. But it didn’t go through, so I get here and I had to take a few more.”
Students said the extra steps are worth it if they help keep the school open.
“If that’s what has to happen for us to be in person, then it is what it is; I don’t really mind,” said Stone.
SDSU's classes begin on Aug. 23.
