MINNEAPOLIS — Its been an unconventional start to the school year for students at the 'U' who are trying to navigate academics amid a persistent pandemic - from lockdowns to curfews.
"Its definitely harder to like meet people when you don't get to go to your classes and meet people who take the same classes as you do," said U of M Freshman Ben Zandstra.
Like most colleges and universities, the 'U' has rolled out a staged plan to deal with COVID-19, made up of four phases.
This week, students entered phase three, giving them more access to university facilities and extending the 9 p.m. curfew to midnight.
"Its just nice not to worry when you're out late at night to get back into the dorms," said Zandstra.
"As a lacrosse player we were only allowed to run the fields from 8 to 10 p.m., and the curfew being at 9 p.m. kind of prevented me from doing all of that," said Freshman Nick Kasian.
The move into the new phase comes at a time when numbers across the state are surging, but things are different at the 'U'.
There have been at least 270 confirmed positive cases since March on campus, but data from the university's health department shows a drastic drop in cases per week within the last month.
"I like the way that they've handled it kind of gradually giving us more freedom," said Freshman Tyler Walker.
The 'U' isn't the exception. The State Health Department numbers show a majority of colleges across the state are seeing cases trending down.
"For the most part people are respectful about the guidelines," said Walker.
A trend students at the 'U' hope will continue.
"We're still trying to have the college experience. We're all a bunch of freshmen trying to meet each other, staying in your rooms boarded up at 9 p.m. every night, not meeting anybody, just having to focus on the education, little bit weird," said U of M Freshman Nick Kasian.