Rutgers-Camden Students Rush To Pack Up Belongings After Learning They Would Have To Vacate Campus Housing Due To Coronavirus Fears
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- A Rutgers-Camden student and her mother are facing uncertainties amid the coronavirus outbreak. Many of the students are being given short notice to leave campus.
Sophomore Breanna Ettrick says she learned Tuesday night that everyone in university housing would have to clear out with all of their belongings by Thursday.
Breanna's mom, Raquell Ettrick, drove three hours from New York City to the Camden campus of Rutgers University.
"We were trying to scramble to try and figure out what timing we can get here, what time she has to be out by," Raquell Ettrick said.
Signs posted on the doors of campus residence halls noted that all residents must remove their person and all their belongings by Thursday.
"We didn't have any exemptions from our teachers. We still had to go to class and manage packing up," Breanna said.
Thursday classes for Rutgers at all three of its campuses have been canceled, following suit with many other universities attempting to prevent COVID-19 infections.
Classes will not resume at those campuses after spring break. Instead, courses will move online.
"We didn't enroll her in an online learning institution. My daughter is a very tactile hands-on learner," Raquell said.
And then there are the many questions regarding reimbursement and required prepaid meal plans that will go unused.
"They didn't share any details on whether or not they were going to credit us on the housing costs that we have already prepaid," Raquell said.
Parents and friends helped students carry the load of sudden displacement.
For the time being, Breanna, a sophomore, will move in with her family in Jersey City and take her remote classes from there.
"I've already had a couple teachers tell us our test schedules are going to remain the same," she said.
For now, Rutgers has mandated online classes through April 3.
It's not clear yet if students will be able to move back in at that time or if this change will last through the end of the semester.
