The Pandemic has affected many lives since March of 2020, including those at Delta State University. Delta State’s students are managing with the presence of COVID-19 despite the strict guidelines. 

There are a variety of rules that students must follow while attending DSU during the pandemic. 

DSU’s student expectations and protocols are the following: 

1. Students must wear masks at all times in the residence halls when outside of their assigned rooms, and when in public and unable to maintain 6 feet of distance from others.
2. All students must sign the Delta State University COVID-19 Attestation Form indicating that they understand the institution’s policies, guidelines, and protocols regarding keeping the environment as safe as possible, COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation procedures and that they agree to try in good faith to abide by those policies. Students must also complete the electronic version of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Campus Health Screening daily.

Although these guidelines are broad, further information on COVID-19 protocols for DSU can be found here.

The Process

Campus life has decreased significantly at Delta State since last March. Due to COVID-19 safety guidelines, students have to jump through hoops to keep campus involvement alive. 

For organizations, DSU officials must approve any events that they put together. The process is to ensure that students are taking precautions when holding events. 

Will Young, Pi Kappa Alpha’s president states, “COVID-19 has affected Greek life in many ways, including limiting events to those that can be socially distanced and held in a safe environment for all attending.”

If events do not follow COVID-19 rules, DSU will decide to postpone or cancel an event altogether. For example, the high risk of COVID-19 cancelled the annual “Pig Pickin.”

How are Students Managing?

Students are striving to make the best of the situation all while adhering to all COVID-19 rules. In return, DSU has even lifted some guidelines since the beginning of the school year in August. For instance, residents who live on campus had a curfew until recently.

Kelby Ware, a DSU senior, states, “I feel that I have been stripped of my college experience within the past year all thanks to COVID. But now since Delta State is making an effort to lift some of the protocols, I can look forward to living a normal college life again.” 

DSU’s top priority is student safety, but some feel that the COVID-19 guidelines are keeping them from their college career. 

What are the Plans for the Future?

Although COVID-19 will not disappear overnight, Delta State is gradually making adjustments to regulate campus life back to the “norm”. 

With the help of the Student Senate organization, the Walter Sillers Coliseum will host graduation. With the goal of holding several ceremonies, this will allow graduates to have more tickets for graduation And in the fall, students are expected to have more face-to-face classes rather than online.

Since Delta State is adjusting its COVID-19 updates by the day, students are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. perhaps Fall 2021 will see students living an almost normal life here at Delta State!