As the Pandemic Prevails, Liberty is Quickly Changing Campus Life to Protect Students

Large indoor events were either canceled or moved outdoors because of Liberty’s mitigation period. Classes moved to an online format, the Annex reached full capacity, sporting events moved from home to away, and now College For A Weekend (CFAW) has been canceled.

These are all the effects of the rising number of COVID-19 cases on Liberty University’s campus.

The number of cases reached a record high the first two weeks of the fall 2021 semester. The most recent update of the official COVID-19 positive cases on campus is from Sept. 1, totaling 488 cases between students and faculty, according to Liberty University’s official COVID-19 dashboard.

The university is trying to combat all these hiccups in the school’s yearly plans by promoting safety precautions among students and staff on campus. 

As part of the plan to limit the spread of COVID-19, online classes began Sept. 1. The university scheduled a clinic to administer the first dose of the Moderna vaccine to students who were interested Sept. 3. The second vaccination is scheduled for Oct. 5 at the Vines Center.

Liberty women’s soccer is the first sport to pay game day repercussions due to the high COVID-19 cases. Its recent home game against the University of Delaware was switched to an away game two days prior to the event. Delaware announced in a press release that the Bluehens did not want to come to a campus with such a high number of positive cases.

“The Delaware women’s soccer match originally scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 5 on the road at Liberty has been moved to a home match due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases on the Liberty campus,” Delaware said in a press release.

Now that the active cases are at a higher rate than they were at any point last year, the Annex — a residential building made available for any student on-campus who needs to quarantine for exposure or a positive COVID-19 test — has reached its capacity. Residence Life added more beds for higher occupancies.

“The Annex facility did reach full capacity,” Executive Director of Residence Life Dustin DuBose said. “However, thanks to swift action by University administration, 225 additional beds were purchased and have been installed, converting all rooms at the Annex to double occupancy. With our total capacity now north of 450, we have bed availability to continue to quarantine students who test positive for COVID-19.”

As an extra step to prevent the spread, Liberty decided to cancel its September College For A Weekend. 

Currently, the CFAW from Oct. 28 to 30 is still on the schedule. 

All indoor events with large groups of people have been cancelled or rescheduled during the mitigation period. Classes are expected to return to in-person on Sept. 10.

For more information about Liberty’s response to COVID-19 go to: https://www.liberty.edu/coronavirus/.

Gora is the assistant news editor. Follow him on Twitter at @kevgora.