Students move into dorms on UCCS campus with masks and sanitizer in tow

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Freshmen moved into the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus this week, packing a few more dorm essentials than in past years.

Hand sanitizer and face masks seem especially important as the private school across town, Colorado College, quarantined 155 students in a dorm after one student tested positive on arrival.

U.S. News and World Report, which ranks the nation’s colleges, reports 80% of students live on campus at Colorado College. It cites a significantly smaller percentage, just 14% of students, live on campus at UCCS.

KRDO asked the school how it plans to keep COVID-19 off campus, with so many students commuting to the university.

Jared Verner, the spokesperson for UCCS, says having a high commuter population has its advantages. For instance, students who do live on campus have apartment-style dorms. It means students will share a bathroom with three other students at most. Colorado College has communal restrooms and showers in each of its three dorms.

However, Verner acknowledges that the commuter population could make contact tracing more difficult if a student tests positive for COVID-19.