Sac State Welcomes Some Students Back For Dorm Life And In-Person Classes

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Sacramento State is welcoming some students back for in-person classes. A campus that typically has 30,000 packing different classrooms will now only have on average 150-300 on-campus students, the university's president said.

Roughly 95 percent of Sac State's classes have gone virtual. But, some courses for the nursing, biology, chemistry, engineering, theater and film programs are having in-person hybrid classes. Half of the students in those courses will be on campus one day, the rest will be at home and then they switch roles on a different day.

Face masks are required on campus and the university is working with student safety ambassadors to make sure the community is following their guidelines.  They had out masks, monitor social distancing in elevators and making sure people are going in the right direction in open buildings.

Some students said they're glad their course is back to in-person learning. But, they know it can all go away in a blink of an eye.

READ: Homeschool Community Helping Parents Struggling With Distance Learning

"We are being careful. You can only have five to eight people in the lab at a time. But again, like I said before, it only takes one person and, you know, we'd have to shut it down," Cilli Galvan, a biology major at Sacramento State, said.

Only 460 students will be staying on campus in separate dorms. Last year 2,100 students lived on-campus.

"I was ready for the college, first year life with the greetings and all of the activities. But obviously, that's not how it happened," Sarah Collier, a freshman at Sacramento State, said.

Dorms have also undergone major changes due to COVID-19 protocols. President Robert S. Nelsen is confident the protocols will be followed. He says game rooms or study rooms are all cordoned off, and students will be housed in single units.

Students say they're ready to go with the flow.

"It's definitely different," Reymundo Madera, a Sac State junior, said. "I would say they're doing a very good job at making sure we're social distancing and that everyone is having a mask. All of the very heavy trafficked areas are disinfected."

Faculty are also handling what could happen by using pivot plans if Sac State has to go back 100% virtual learning.

Some who are in class and in the dorms say they're confident.

"I don't want to think negative because I want to stay on campus and still live in a new city. I'm just thinking positive," Collier said.

READ: Chico State Cancels The Rest Of Its In-Person Classes After Dozens Test Positive For Coronavirus

But others still a little worried about the unknown.

"Like everywhere else there's always going to be those people who are going to try to find a way to party," Madera said.

There isn't a specific enforcement arm for Sac State for students who break protocol.

"We have met with the conduct officer. We have talked about what's going to be appropriate and what's not. I hope we don't get into that situation but we will handle it," Nelsen said.

Nelsen told CBS13 there's also a plan in place in case a student living on campus has a positive COVID-19 test. The university is blocking out certain sections of the dorms to have a quarantine area for students who test positive.