Howard University is Re-Opening with an Option for Everyone.

H.U. is going with a hybrid model that accommodates both in class and online options as the university plans to welcome some students back this fall.

A 28-page document was emailed to Howard University students, faculty, and staff mid-July.

This document was the university's re-opening plan with pages of explanations on what was expected 'if' students wanted to return. Included, there were cheaper and safer alternatives for both faculty and staff that decided they wanted to go to class at home.

Yet reduced housing, take-out dining, mandatory mask, and classroom minumum's will not stop upperclassman, Joshua Cole, from coming back to campus.

"This plan was my okay to show my mom, you see it says we can go back, personally I don't want to stay home," Cole said.

Cole chose the hybrid route. He is taking one to two classes in person and the rest online. He has found off campus housing with friends, and is not only coming back for a degree, but with responsibilities.

"I made royal-court, so I have to plan events. We are really transitioning the same way all other industries have. So from in person events to know we will be doing things online."

The university has repeatedly pressed the issue throughout the re- opening plan's pages that social distancing will be enforced. The office buildings will only operate at a quarter capacity and classrooms at half capacity or less dependent on the field of work.

Professor Colin Campbell has taught at Howard University, American University, and Prince George's Community College the past few years. Campbell said that he just got certified in online mitigation in December.

"We all knew this was coming, not an infectious disease, but the online teaching most definitely." Campbell said.

He had to learn how to work BlackBoard an online system most D.C. metro schools are using in order to make it easier to have all your class assignments and instructions within the same place. Now he says the new challenge is getting the students to take online classes seriously.

"I am not going to say which school, but when we switched online I had a student show up with no shirt on to class," Campbell said. "I mean you are literally teaching them where they sleep and getting them to literally get out of bed for class, it needs to be demanded of them upfront and incorporated in the grading or it won't happen."

The students I spoke with were not even remotely concerned about their academics when it came to coming back. It is the struggle of learning to socialize with new boundaries that has them worried.

"It feels irresponsible of me to do a lot of the things im supposed to be doing at this point of my life, giving the circumstances," Junior Steven Aldrige said.

Both Aldrige and Cole are members of Divine 9 Fraternities, but neither wavered when it came to putting their safety first.

Cole pleaded, "This is serious, it is affecting the African American community, I have had friends and brothers that have lost family members to this. When you look around it really is way closer to home than you think."

Aldridge left with this message for his peers.

"I had two friends over the other day, mask on, sanitizer handy, in doors and we were just chilling. Don't have gatherings of 30 or more, 10 or more just don't do, if you feel like these rules are taking something from you, you are just being selfish."

Howard is welcoming back some of their students starting August 17. According to the re-opening plan all students must have taken a COVID-19 test and have shared the results with the campus health center within the first seven days of being on campus.