The freshman class has reached an all-time record enrollment of 5,247 students, according to Dr. Kyle Marrero’s, State of the University.

With the influx of so many freshmen on campus, residence halls are housing more students than ever before. 

With COVID-19 cases still rising in the state, safety and health protocols are in place that encourage mask wearing and limited outside visitors. One student living in Watson Hall says he feels that his dorm is taking great precautions.

“In my opinion, I think Watson’s actually done a pretty good job with handling the pandemic,” said Samuel Esowhode, a freshman living in Watson Hall. “They had a lot of resources. I was able to use wipes when I was able to move in and they had gloves, they had a lot of resources for me to use.”

Another student living in Centennial Place, which houses over 1001 students as of 2021, stated that they also feel university housing is being proactive with safety in the building. 

“I actually think they’re doing it really well,” said Arch Pingle. “They’ve been really locking down on people who have been getting COVID and making sure that it’s not spreading throughout the dorms.”

Students living on campus seem to be comfortable and accepting of the COVID precautions placed by university housing. 

University housing declined our multiple requests for an on-camera interview.