Extra precautions taken on UCF move-in day to keep students safe

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Move-in day for the University of Central Florida began Saturday and will run through August 23, but this year extra precautions are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UCF Move-In looked different this year as the university put extra measures in place to keep students safe. Normally, UCF Move-In is three days long, but this year it's 16 days long. 

"I was afraid it would be so many people crowded in one place, but now it's really scattered with the different appointment times," said Incoming UCF Freshman Julia Bedrin. 

Students had to make appointments to move-in in order to limit the number of people on campus. Students also had to get a COVID-19 test upon moving in. The university expects results within 48 hours, but in the meantime are asking students to quarantine as much as possible.  

"Stay close to their rooms where their masks, pay attention to social distancing, and not go anywhere where there are large groups of people," VP Student Development Maribeth Ehasz said. 

Some students say they feel the university is taking the necessary steps to protect them from COVID-19. 

"I feel comfortable that they're putting a lot of rules and regulations in place to keep us all safe as students," said Incoming Freshman Jasmine Shedrick. 

Students are expecting to spend most of their time in their dorms. Nearly 70 percent of classes will be online for the Fall semester. 

"All the classes are online so I'll just be in my room and we already talked all the roommates about not going out as much," said Incoming Freshman Alyson Pepper. 

However, students tell me that not all of their classmates felt comfortable living in a dorm or going to campus. 

"I have a lot of friends who are just staying home and just taking classes from home," said Pepper. 

Some others felt it wasn't worth it because they wouldn't have the typical college experience because of the pandemic. 

"They felt more comfortable just staying and saving money since because they felt they would be closed off to a lot of the opportunities of college," said Shedrick. 

Classes begin on August 24 at UCF.