NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Ever since COVID closed the St. Olaf campus last spring, Luis Mendez has been waiting for this day.
"My heart is beating so hard and I'm super excited and really joyful to be back," said Mendez, one of the first few students cleared to move in to on campus housing on Friday.
The move is the first step in a multi-phase return to campus for St. Olaf. Next week, Mendez and all other students will finish the process and begin a restrictive quarantine process that will keep them largely locked down in their campus housing, with few exceptions.
"Once we're in, we're in," said Mendez. "For the first two weeks it will be kind of like a self quarantine, self lock-down within the dorms. Every residence hall has a set time to go and get food and stuff like that and we'll be eating outside as well."
St Olaf's plan, which included a community pledge signed by all students, also includes baseline COVID-19 testing for students and staff - and weekly updates on active cases and tracing. Students will also be asked to police themselves.
"I had actually heard through the grapevine that they are like having 10 students for each dorm kind of being like a ... I call them snitches," Mendez said. "Like a look-out team to make sure everyone is following the guidelines."
Though other campuses might not be going to such lengths. the Minnesota Department of Health is urging all college students to take similar steps for the greater good.
"We have a special message to students heading to a college campus this fall: lay low before you go," said Kris Ehresmann, MDH Director of Infectious Disease.
On Friday, Ehresmann urged anyone hoping to return to campus to stay at home for 14 days.
"If you have been exposed to COVID-19 and don't know it, this will ensure you don't spread it when you return to campus," she said.
Unfortunately for Mendez and his two roommates, it also ensures they'll miss out on some of their off-campus work.
"All three of us, we work at George's (Vineyard), a pizzeria in town," Mendez said. "You know, we do have bills to pay ... expenses that need to be paid for."
Luckily, Mendez says the restaurant is holding their jobs until they can return in two weeks.
"In the grand scheme of things, I think it is worth taking that hit of two weeks not working," Mendez said. "In order to stay on campus for the next three months or four months or for the entire year."