While classes resumed on Sept. 2 as scheduled, life on campus might feel a little different this year.
Following an announcement from Chancellor Rebecca Blank, the University of Wisconsin will be implementing its Smart Restart plan, a new set of guidelines aimed at keeping students and faculty alike safe as campus continues to operate through the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Here are all the changes you can expect during the upcoming Fall 2020 semester.
Classes —
As most students already know, the amount of in-person classes for the fall has been severely limited in order to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. Instead of making a daily commute across campus, many students will instead remain at home.
While this seems like cause for concern from an academic standpoint, UW has announced it is investing heavily in technology and training for faculty in order to continue to provide the same quality of education Badgers have come to expect.
Dining —
All campus dining halls will now only be serving university housing residents, as announced in the Smart Restart plan. This will have huge implications for UW students, as guests and those living off-campus will no longer be welcomed into dining halls in order to accommodate for social distancing.
While the need for dining halls will not be as great due to a lack of students traveling to and from classes, this is still a big change that will affect a large majority of UW students.
Sporting Events —
The odds of having any sort of sporting events this fall look grim following the official announcement from the Big Ten conference postponing all fall sports.
This will be a significant change in student life, as football Saturdays are without a doubt one of the biggest parts of fall student life. As of right now, all we can do is remain hopeful for spring football.
Recreation —
With the lack of in-person events across campus, the way we have fun will also see some changes. UW has mentioned it plans to host virtual events in order to keep students connected, but so far we are uncertain what these will look like.
Various restaurants on State Street have begun to offer outdoor seating along the sidewalk which will provide a similar feeling to a sit-down restaurant without the physical closeness.
There has also been talk of a few art events that may take place outdoors near the Capitol Square this year, which would offer students an opportunity to attend an in-person event or two yet.
