As students return to campus at UofM, Central Michigan faces a COVID-19 spike

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Depending on where students are enrolled, this might be the strangest first day of college, or it might not look like a first day at all. 

With college classes just around the corner, higher education has implemented a hodgepodge of solutions for new and returning students - at least for the universities that are even letting students move in.

As students at Michigan State and Eastern Michigan learned their campus returns would be delayed or suspended, parents and students in Ann Arbor adorned face masks and piled into dormitories ahead of the first day of class.

"In some sort of sick and twisted way this has bonded everyone who was class of 2020," said Sidney, a freshman from Maryland enrolled at the University of Michigan. "We all have this shared experience."

"It seems like there are more people this year moving in than last year, it is just crazy to see," said Brenden Pham. "A lot of them are happy to be here and additionally, they don't know what they are missing."

Some students were confident that kids would be responsible after they moved in. But as reports from other campuses around Michigan and the country are posted, that's not always the case. 

The delicate balance that schools are trying to master of allowing students to congregate on campus but not close enough to increase COVID-19 exposure won't be easy. Just ask Central Michigan, where in-person Greek activities were suspended after health officials identified 54 new cases of the coronavirus among students, labeling Isabella County as a hot spot for the virus. 

Students had only been returned to Mount Pleasant a week ago when cases began to rise. In a statement from university President Bob Davies said campus staff had identified three "pockets of positive cases", two Greek-affiliated houses and another one at a large house north of the university, labeling the high rate of transmission as "particularly concerning."

Also in the statement, Davies apologized for playing cornhole after a video circulated around social media showing him at off-campus gatherings.

Examples like that were enough for Eastern Michigan to notify students on Monday the university was delaying any on-campus living or class for three weeks.

“The events of the last week at campuses across the region and nation demonstrate that despite the best efforts to keep students, employees and communities safe from transmission, the dangers of increasing the spread of the virus and the challenges of maintaining physical distance and safe behavior heading into Labor Day weekend remain quite serious,” said President James Smith.

A week ago, Michigan State President Samuel Stanley told students to in a letter that anyone planning on moving into residence halls for the fall to instead stay home. 

"...it has become evident to me that, despite our best efforts and strong planning, it is unlikely we can prevent widespread transmission of COVID-19 between students if our undergraduates return to campus," Stanley said in a statement.

Western Michigan hopes to mitigate any last-second decision to cease on-campus living and classes with a five-day testing event. However, after major schools at Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Alabama reported outbreaks of COVID-19 within their student bodies, it could be difficult to keep transmission low at the Kalamazoo-based college.