By Lillian Donahue | May 13, 2020 at 2:57 PM EDT - Updated May 13 at 3:05 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Officials at The Citadel say they are planning to welcome cadets back on campus for the fall semester with increased security efforts.
“No one is under any illusions that we are going to be returning to normal,” vice president of communications, Col. John Dorrian said. “We’re going to be returning to a new normal.”
That new normal includes online orientation, testing for everyone on campus, increased sanitizing, socially-distant classes and potential changes to housing and large events.
“We must be ready, willing, and able to refine how we operate on campus to maximize everyone’s safety. Barracks, classrooms, the mess hall, and other centers of concentration could see changes to operations, as will campus generally,” President Gen. Glenn Walters said in a statement. “These will be dictated as the situation warrants.”
Although most summer classes will be online, some lab-based courses will be offered in person for students later into the summer.
Currently, around 300 marine recruits are at the Citadel for COVID-19 observation ahead of boot camp at Parris Island. Dorrian said the college is learning best practices and quarantine measures on campus now with the marine recruits that can help as the school year starts back up.
“We’re able to reserve their operations and they’re learning as they do it and we’re learning from them,” Dorrian said. “So we think that it gives us an advantage to help us prepare for the Fall and we’re very excited about getting back to training cadets in person.”
The college plans to welcome freshman on Aug. 17 and have upper-class cadets return on Aug. 25.
Classes will tentatively start for graduate students on Aug. 26, and two days later for cadets.
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