'A lot of uncertainty': UNC Chapel Hill Student Body President on school's COVID-19 challenges
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Student Body President at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told CNN that it has been difficult balancing all the information and plans surrounding COVID-19 on campus.
"I will say there's a lot of uncertainty," Student Body President Reeves Moseley said. "I will say in May, when we began making this Carolina Roadmap we were optimistic about what cases would look like across North Carolina and across the entire country."
Reeves said the COVID-19 numbers were much higher in July and August than the university leaders originally anticipated.
"Students want to be on campus. They want to have that in-person educational experience, and that's not now what we're able to have," Reeves said.
UNC has reported 135 confirmed cases of COVID-19 after just six days of classes at the Chapel Hill campus.
As for the cases on campus, Reeves said some students were not practicing social distancing and upholding other community standards. However, he also pointed out that many students had been telling university leadership from the very beginning that expecting all students to strictly follow those community standards was an unrealistic goal.
UNC Chapel Hill is now transitioning to all online classes. Reeves said the next step is figuring out the finances and helping any student that is struggling.
"We need to prioritize the students struggling financially," Reeves said. "We're transitioning to an online format and we need to focus on the students at risk and most in need right now. It's difficult to navigate when we're all online a week after coming back to campus."
Meanwhile, the student government at UNC-Charlotte sent an email to the university's administrators requesting a meeting to move all classes online in the name of safety.
