NCCU students begin online, in-person classes

The university plans to crack down on COVID-19 guidelines and students will face disciplinary action for any risky behavior.

The Eagles are back on campus, and for freshman, it didn’t happen the way they’ve always imagined their college experience to be.

“With COVID.. I know it sucks, being online and not the actual college experience that we want but, it’s better than nothing," said Diontre Cephas, a NCCU freshman.

That sentiment is echoed across the university.

“I know a lot of people don’t want to go home. I know a lot of people who come from a bad background," said NCCU freshman Bryson Jones.

NCCU said its cracking down on students who intend to throw parties or put students at risk of contracting the virus. “With everything that I’ve seen so far, this school is taking the precautions for the coronavirus. I’m loving it and my parents loving it as well," added Cephas.

"We have assign seating, so that we’re not too close to each other and in lines inside the cafeteria you can’t stand too close to each other," added Jaida Maye, a NCCU freshman.

She was pleased with the measures taken in her classes today. She hopes everyone does their part to avoid going all online like UNC or NC State.

“I hope that it doesn’t happen here because like I said I live far. So I don’t want to have to pack everything up and go back to Connecticut because that would be tragic," added Maye.

"We have to take the precautions to not only stop this, but to be a better community," said Cephas.

The university believes it can better manage the situation with most students living on-campus. Currently, NCCU is reporting 13 cases with five of those being students.