Photos: SIU Carbondale students begin moving into campus housing
New SIU Carbondale students started moving into the dorms on Wednesday. Move-in looks a bit different this year, as the school prepares to start the fall semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Trinity Moore, left, a freshman from Chicago studying nursing, speaks to her aunt Sherise Earls on Wednesdayduring on-campus move-in at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Meghan Chambers looks towards her mother, Carolyn Chambers, both of Litchfield, while moving into Mae Smith Hall on Wednesday in Carbondale.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane, center, talks to housing staff alongside Dan Mahony, SIU System president, far left, and Lori Stettler, vice chancellor of student affairs, far right, on Wednesday in Carbondale. New SIU students started moving into the dorms on Wednesday.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Sherise Earls and Marcus Earls, both of Chicago, flip their son Mason Earls, 3, on Wednesday while helping their niece Trinity Moore, a freshman nursing student from Chicago, move in to her dorm at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Myles Earls, 6, and his brother Mason Earls, 3, bolt up the sidewalk toward Mae Smith Hall on Wednesday while helping their cousin Trinity Moore, a freshman nursing student from Chicago, move in to her dorm at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Jeff Bogacz, left, and Karen Bogacz, far right, help move their daughter Karissa Bogacz, a freshman studying zoology from Marengo, into Mae Smith Hall on Wednesday during on-campus move-in at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Mikeda Hinkle, of Belleville, throws away packaging while helping her son move in to his dorm on Wednesday at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Damont Hinkle, her son, is a freshman planning on studying communication design.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Residence Hall staff members give a family moving instructions last week during on-campus move-in at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Jonathan Golz, a freshman studying information and system technology from Goreville, poses for a picture in front of Mae Smith Hall alongside his mother, Jennifer Cox, on Wednesday during on-campus move-in at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Masked move-in at SIU Carbondale
Students move into Mae Smith Hall on Wednesday during on-campus move-in at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
SIU Carbondale students on Wednesday descended onto campus from around the country for the first of five student move-in days. While the move-in rite of passage looks different this year, students are optimistic as they start their college journeys.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on the Metro East to "clamp down" on rising virus numbers. So far, mayors in the area have avoided tighter restrictions.
Herrin High School sent home about two dozen students Thursday morning after one tested positive for COVID-19.
Southern Illinois University won’t release official fall enrollment numbers until Friday, but Chancellor Austin Lane said that in this year’s numbers “we’ll all have something to brag about.”
SIU avoided known large-scale outbreaks related to its university community like those that have made headlines in other college towns.