PORTLAND, Ore. — Hundreds of freshman students moved into the dorms of both Portland State University and the University of Oregon on Thursday.
When classes start next week, it'll be the first time many of them will see the inside of a classroom in over a year. Most seniors spent the final year of high school learning remotely.
"Personally for me, it's induced a little bit of anxiety, but everyone here is so kind," said PSU incoming freshman Lucila Gonzales. "Everyone has been a lot more welcoming than I thought they'd be."
Gonzales will be among the 1,721 students living in the dorms of the PSU campus. She said she chose the school because of its urban setting.
"I wanted to be close, but I also feel like the city is very different than the neighborhood, so it was really exciting to be able to go to a school that's in an urban district as well," she explained.
When freshman Macy Olivier was asked if she was ready to leave her parent's home, she said with a laugh, "For sure, yeah!"
Her mom, Kari Olivier, said move-in day was both good and hard.
"Oh my gosh, it's such a bag of mixed emotions," she said. "I'm so happy and proud of Macy, but I'm sad too."
Students at PSU had to show proof of vaccination before moving into the dorms, unless they were granted an exemption. The university said there are about 500 fewer students living in the dorms this year than in a normal year, partly because the school has set aside some floors to be used as isolation wings should there be students that test positive. Students were given appointments for when they could move as well to try and keep crowds from forming.
Freshman Isabella Easley said she thought it'd be more stressful on move-in day.
"Honestly it hasn't been that bad, other than waiting for the elevators, grabbing all my stuff, finding parking. Overall it's been pretty cool, I've got to see other people in class with. It's starting to make this journey a real thing."
South of Portland in Eugene, it was a different story at the University of Oregon.
All the students heading to the dorms caused big traffic jams. Almost 3,000 students were checked into their rooms. It was the university's single biggest move-in day. As a COVID precaution, students had staggered check-in times to alleviate some of the congestion.
"I feel comfortable sending him off," said parent Serena Orona about the COVID safety precautions. "He's vaccinated. I'm still a bit worried, but if it happens we'll deal with it when it comes. But hopefully it doesn't."
The traffic jams were largely caused by students arriving earlier than scheduled.
The U of O is also requiring COVID-19 vaccines for students and staff or a qualifying exemption. More than 19,000 of the 22,000 students have reported their vaccination status. Students have until Monday to report their status.
Students at Oregon State University moved in on Sunday.
This year, the first thing students did on campus did was take a COVID-19 test, which the university required. As the day went on, the required COVID testing created quite a backup. Some families waited for more than three hours to get through lines. Some vehicles waiting in lines ran out of gas.
According to university officials, 4,600 students will be living on campus this year, twice the number that started last year in the dorms. All students are required to be vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID tests. Right now 93% of students are fully vaccinated.