AMHERST — Earlier in the summer, first-year students at the University of Massachusetts learned they would be able to come to campus this fall, live in dormitories and be taught in classrooms.
“I’m glad to be here. I’m glad we’re on campus,” said Colin Humphries, a Dudley resident, as he completed his move into Emerson dormitory on Aug. 26 with help from his father, Ed.
As a high school senior, Humphries took his classes remotely, so he’s delighted to be returning to the classroom. “After last year, it is really nice to be back,” Humphries said.
Emma Bohlinger, a first-year student from Walden, New York, also was getting settled at Emerson dormitory with assistance from parents Wendy and John.
“I’m stoked to be on campus,” Bohlinger said.
Even with the delta variant of COVID-19 surging and potential risks, Bohlinger said she has no apprehension about being on campus, only excitement that the semester could be normal for her.
Humphries said he trusts in the protocols to keep students safe, including keeping the mask mandate in place when indoors and outside a dorm room, COVID-19 testing continuing, and quarantine space being made available should there be infections.
“With full vaccination and staying with the mask mandate, that should mitigate any potential outbreaks,” Humphries said.
Bohlinger and Humphries were among about 4,900 students who make up the freshmen class being dropped off on campus last Friday by their parents and guardians, the first time in two years for a traditional move-in. They will be among 13,500 students in dormitories.
An estimated 13,000 other students will be living off campus, many in Amherst and surrounding communities, where some residents are in touch with town and university officials wondering how quality-of-life issues will be handled as the pandemic continues.
“Two classes really have never been here before, and we’re going to have to staff up as best we can to meet the challenge,” Town Manager Paul Bockelman said.
Both the police and fire departments are ready for the new first-year students, and sophomores who entered last fall, who have yet to have the full experience of being students. For better or worse, that likely means twice as many students may be having their first experience participating in large gatherings and occasional revelry at off-campus apartments.
“We’ve talked to the police as well, and the sense is that it will be a highly active fall because the students have been away,” Amherst Fire Chief Walter “Tim” Nelson said.
Like Bockelman, Nelson said he believes last year’s freshmen class, deprived of a normal year of social activities, may try making up for that this fall.
“We looked at that and gauged the potential,” Nelson said. “That in itself may push up activity levels beyond what it was two to three years ago in the fall.”
But Nelson also observes that it’s a small number who make bad choices and magnify any problems, and that the vast majority of students are responsible and will never have an encounter with paramedics or police.
Any disturbances now, though, are accompanied by the worry about the potential spread of COVID-19, especially with the highly contagious delta variant.
Bockelman said the town is more limited in the tools it has at hand, noting that the Massachusetts state of emergency that put a cap on large groups getting together is no longer in place, and many of the other restrictions during the pandemic have been eased.
But with 98% of UMass domestic students fully vaccinated and 93% of faculty and staff likewise inoculated, the likelihood of the spread of illness is diminished.
UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski said that UMass has prioritized vaccinations and other protections for all students if they are going to be taking part in on-campus activities.
“As part of the university’s continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all students and employees are required to be vaccinated or to have an approved exemption from vaccination on medical or religious grounds,” Blaguszewski said. “Face coverings must be worn in all indoor public spaces on campus, including the common areas of residence halls, academic buildings, dining commons, libraries and the recreation center.”
Still, Bockelman said townspeople should be prepared for a rise in cases, though that will be no different than anywhere else.
“There will be an increase in COVID cases in our town, in our region and in our state,” Bockelman said. “We should not be surprised if it rises.”
Blaguszewski said students who live off campus should become familiar with and follow any public health guidance from the communities in which they live when it comes to mask wearing, large gatherings and social distancing. Amherst, Hadley and Northampton, for instance, all have mandates to wear masks in indoor spaces that are open to the public.
In addition, Blaguszewski said there will be the usual collaborative efforts with town partners to facilitate respectful behavior in the community. Bockelman said the same procedures exist, with weekly meetings to discuss arrests or other incidents that might violate the UMass code of conduct.
One UMass-led effort is the Good Neighbor program, in which students who live off campus in Amherst and Hadley can use the Party Smart registration. Under this program, if the noise elicits complaints from neighbors, a courtesy call gives the party host 20 minutes to quiet the noise or police will respond.
The other is the Walk This Way program. That aims to deter students on bar crawls or visiting off-campus rentals from disturbing neighborhoods where families live.
Meanwhile, the university notes that it has the most diverse incoming class, with African-American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Native American, or ALANA students, making up 37% of the class, and underrepresented minority students making up 19%.
“UMass Amherst continues to attract extraordinary students from a rich variety of backgrounds from Massachusetts and across the country and the world,” UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said in a statement. “These exceptional students have made UMass their destination of choice, and we welcome them with great enthusiasm as we undertake a full complement of campus activities this semester.”