OSHKOSH, Wis (NBC 26) -- This fall all 26 University of Wisconsin campuses will be requiring students and staff to wear masks when indoors. The board of regents just made the announcement on Thursday. On Friday, many Universities including UW-Oshkosh are preparing to implement that change and others for the fall semester.
There are still a lot of questions from students preparing to head back to UW Oshkosh in the fall. But some students are beginning to find a bit of comfort knowing that students and staff will be required to wear masks while indoors on campus.
"Since the mask requirement announcement, I think people are generally feeling a little safer when thinking about coming back to school in the fall," says Keegan Little a UWO Senior and member of the College Democrats.
But Little still has quite a few questions regarding how classes and campus life will resume in midst of the pandemic at hand.
"Some of the unknowns are like how will on-campus living work? I'm very concerned for students living on campus."
Today the plan at UWO is to open the dorms up, roommates, and all in the fall.
"There is going to be students living together. Masks will be required to be worn inside, unless they're in their personal spaces. If they venture out into the lounge areas or public spaces they'll be required to wear a mask," says UWO Police Chief Kurt Liebold.
Chief Liebold says things get a bit more complicated though, when it comes to students commuting back in forth from class. Today they're only planning on encouraging the use of masks outside, but the university is not requiring it.
"I do feel as though most students will not follow that guidance and that's what concerns us," says Little.
Another change is the dining hall experience students should expect. Students will now be able to order lunch to their dorms or eat in a dining hall that is much more spaced out according to Chief Liebold.
"There will be orders you can pick up. There will be an Uber delivery typestyle (delivery) for resident houses. There will be different options," says Chief Liebold.
And if a student or staff member is starting to experience potential signs of COVID-19. Chief Liebold says the university plans on covering staff and students on that front too.
"We will be able to test for symptomatic students and staff on campus. We are also acquiring a rapid testing machine which can turn around a test in 45 minutes."
And even with all of these changes, students are still well aware that there are likely many more changes to the fall semester to come.
"We are definitely worried about the possibility of a second wave of this virus coming to our campus and what the university plans will be for that," adds Little.
