With the pandemic in mind, Wichita State officials are planning move-in days to look much different for student residents than in years past. 

For starters, move-ins won’t take place across two days but will instead be staggered from this Saturday to next Sunday, Aug. 16, in an effort to limit crowds. 

Associate Dean of Students Scott Jensen said move-in day is usually one of the most fun days of the year. He said the university had to reimagine the event to keep it fun while ensuring safety and social distancing. 

“Move-in day, in the past, was one of our [more fun] events even though it’s kind of chaotic,” Jensen said “Now we’re trying to limit [the] interaction that we normally would have embraced as much as possible which is too bad because that’s a really fun experience.”

“Just like everybody else on campus we’re doing everything we can to keep people as safe as possible,” Jensen said.

The university will limit the amount of students moving in to 10 students per building per hour. Every student has to sign up for a specific time slot. 

Jensen said that the university has taken precautionary steps to maintain a sanitary environment.

“We’ll be wiping down the move-in carts after they’ve been used, the folks working the stations doing check-in will do extra precautions — washing hands regularly and wearing masks,” Jensen said. 

Jensen also said that every person who enters the buildings will be required to wear masks and there will be plexiglass dividers between the students checking in and staff members.

While students will not be able to volunteer during move-in day like they’ve done in the past, the staff still includes roughly 30 resident assistants (RAs), 10 desk assistants, and 20 full-time staff members helping to make sure the days run smoothly. 

The university is expecting to house about 1,400 students this semester.