UW students leave for Thanksgiving, some indefinitely because of COVID-19

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- UW system students finished their pre-Thanksgiving classes, and some decided to go home to see their parents.

“I just finished getting my COVID test, and I’m planning on going home tonight,” UWM student Caroline Ives said.

“I’m going to be going home to my parents' house," UWM student Julia Giuffre said. "It is going to be a social distance, just me and my brother.”

Others opted to stay put.

“I’m not going home," UWM student Madeline Hogue said. "I was supposed to, but unfortunately my dad got COVID on the job. So I will not be going home.”

UW-Madison spokesperson Meredith McGlone said campus will not be entirely shut down over the weekend.

“Residence halls will remain open," McGlone said. "House fellows will be on duty. University dining will be open serving some traditional ?Thanksgiving fare and non-traditional fare.”

When students come back, all classes will be virtual. For some, that’s the same, and they have already gotten used to it.

“I take biology classes," UWM student Abdullahi Abdi said. "It’s hard to do it online with the labs. So getting used to it was a lot of work.”

Others, like education major, Hogue, will have to adjust.

“I would be student teaching, but now I’m going to be teaching from my bedroom, which is really weird,” Hogue said.

UWM said there will be a small number of students still in the dorms following the break.

UW is asking any students who do travel for the holiday to self-quarantine if they return, whether they live in the dorms or off campus.