Sac State buzzing again with the "closest thing to normal university life"
SACRAMENTO – Despite classes starting next week for Sacramento State, the campus is already buzzing with students.
Thursday marked the first day of move-in day.
The return highlights not only the start of a new academic year, but the university believes this points to a return to the closest thing to normal university life before the pandemic.
Ahead of the first day of school, officials project that 3,200 students are expected to move into the residence halls.
The jitters are already here for some.
"I don't know what to expect. But I'm just excited to meet someone new," said Natalie Diaz, 18, a freshman who wants to major in biology.
There is a waitlist of about 200 students looking for campus housing. As for registered students, about 31,000 are enrolled in fall classes
The eagerness to have in-person learning again after the pandemic goes all the way to the top of the university. This is not another school year, this is the school year, according to university president Robert S. Nelsen.
"We're finally back together and now we've got 80 percent of our classes will be face-to-face," he said.
Through that excitement, there is caution. All returning students are vaccinated or have an exemption and new students must present a negative COVID-19 test before move-in day.
These safeguards reassure families like the Huitrons.
"I am so excited for them to have this experience," said Elsa Huitron, the mother of Daniella, a Sac State freshman. The day is noticeably different than when she helped her son move into campus housing in 2020 at another university.
She is excited but anxious.
When asked would she or her daughter be the first to call the other person, Elsa Huitron did not hesitate.
"It's probably going to be me," she said. "She's a much-improved version of us."