“They basically said, ‘leave:’” U of S students pushed out of dorms early under ‘frantic’ conditions

As University of Saskatchewan (U of S) students quickly cleaned and moved out of their dorms Wednesday, new students filled their areas immediately.

That left many with questions, as a series of emails left some scrambling, trying to figure out what their next steps were.

Liam Kerr is one of those students, and he said everything happened quickly from when the U of S cancelled classes to the day they moved out prematurely.

“We were sent an email saying if you’d like to move out, please fill out this form. If you move out by March 31, we’ll give you April’s rent,” he spoke of the original emails sent to himself, and all those occupying the College Quarters (CQ) dorms.

But, that quickly changed after another email was sent out Sunday night.

“We woke up on Monday morning, and they said by Wednesday you (have) to be out by noon. It was a little disheartening to know that, especially with finals and midterms coming up. They basically said, ‘leave.’”

And that’s just what students did.  With trying to keep up with online classes, and the existing stress of finals season, Kerr said it’s making everything tough to manage.

“It’s very difficult to stay focused on (our classes),” he said.

He said as he moved out Wednesday, students from other dormitories at the U of S were being relocated to their former places of residence. He said the common spaces were full of people, making it difficult to meet the requirement of getting out by noon Wednesday.

For student Micah Bassingthwaighte, he was also caught off guard by the way things were handled in CQ.

“It’s kind of frantic, trying to figure out where I was going. Figure out how I was going to transport stuff. It’s just (been) frantic.”

While Bassingthewaighte was cleaning and moving his belongings out, he had another barrier to get by.

“(The U of S) deactivated my residence card while I was still in residence. Which was a bit awkward,” he said.

“They apparently sent an email out about somebody moving in, but I didn’t get it until the guy was already there.”

The U of S did respond to 650 CKOM’s request for an explanation on the matter.

“As of Wednesday, March 25, the Voyageur Place (VP) residence buildings will close as a further precaution for the health and safety of our students and staff. Students who are able to return home, will be asked to do so,” Director of Consumer Services, George Foufas stated.

“All remaining students unable to return home that are currently living in these dorm-style rooms will be moved to alternate apartment-style units in other residence buildings. These units are equipped with full in-room kitchen facilities. We are doing this to ensure students can practice proper social distancing.”

The response also stated that all units were prepared and cleaned before the student’s arrival, and if they weren’t, it’s to be addressed by the “residence team.”

Bassingthwaighte said he understands how difficult the situation is for everyone, but that he wished the U of S did one thing as the situation escalated:

“It would have been nice to get more of a warning.”