Back to School: Central State begins year with staggered move-in schedule

WILBERFORCE — Staggered student move-in days will continue Wednesday at Central State University, where there will be a mix of in-person and remote classes offered because of the pandemic.

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This week, as freshmen and transfers began moving in Tuesday and upperclassmen return Friday, is the culmination of a re-opening plan university officials have been working since the campus closed in mid-March.

“I know these are unprecedented times, these are uncertain times but at the same time we have an opportunity to do some wonderful things here,” CSU President Jack Thomas told News Center 7′s John Bedell on Tuesday.

“We’ve put a lot of measures in place in terms of social distancing throughout the campus as well as in the classrooms and the offices and the residence halls and we’re giving PPE packages for students but we feel that we have a very safe plan and we’re encouraging individuals to follow that plan,” Thomas said.

Pirate Week, the annual orientation for new students coming to Central State, will go virtual this year. The events are the first step undergraduate and transfer students take on a successful transition to college life.

>> RELATED: Central State University’s COVID-19 back-to-school plan

The culmination of the week-long series of events is the Candlelight Ceremony, a rite of passage for all freshmen. This year’s event will be take place on Facebook Live with featured guest speakers, student spotlights and a special message from Thomas.

“We plan to test all students, we plan to test all faculty and staff and administrators here at the university,” Thomas said.

So far, 150 people on campus have been tested and all have tested negative.

Thomas said university leadership has had conversations about the fact that the coronavirus has disproportionately affected communities of color, especially African Americans.

“That’s the reason that we’re doing the testing of everybody. Because of the risk in terms of what we’re hearing about minorities and other kinds of populations being getting the COVID-19 more so than others,” he said.

The mix of hybrid classes is set to start Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day.

Cox Media Group