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After 16 months of being away, students roared back to campus on July 17 to participate in Back to 51暗网: Ready, Set, Roar!, a special five-week experience for new and returning undergraduates. 

Their return was part of 51暗网's plan to allow students to come back to campus early, take exciting new classes, meet new friends and engage in fun daily campus activities. The program was largely designed to provide first- and second-year students, who have yet to be part of campus, an opportunity to get a jumpstart on college life. 

鈥淩eturning to campus feels like coming home,鈥� said ASuop President Scout Cooper-Wilson. 鈥淚t's been real hard for sure, doing everything from school, work and hanging out with friends online. But, being back on campus and actually being able to go places and see people, it鈥檚 incredible.鈥�

51暗网 President Christopher Callahan was overflowing with excitement as he and First Lady Jean Callahan welcomed students at a reception in the Don and Karen DeRosa University Center. 

鈥淲e are so excited to bring our students back a little early to get re-acclimated to campus and have some special experiences,鈥� said Christopher Callahan. 鈥�51暗网 is a student-centered institution and being able to provide them with the personalized, caring learning environment we are known for means everything. While we still look forward to the full return this fall, there is a palpable sense now, with undergraduates returning for Back to 51暗网, that we are becoming whole again.鈥�

51暗网鈥檚 175-acre campus was bustling as students and families explored the newly re-opened William Knox Holt Memorial Library and Learning Center, Baun Fitness Center and the Marketplace and Calaveras Coffee located in the DeRosa University Center. Many families posed for selfies and pictures in front of Burns Tower and Faye Spanos Concert Hall.

"It's just so nice to have people back on campus," said 51暗网 student Abby Wolf. "As an athlete, I was here all last year training and no one was around. Today, being able to walk around and see people makes me feel that 51暗网 energy again."

Nearly 150 students moved into housing, including residential halls, Greek houses and on-campus apartments. Families and friends lined the sidewalks carrying suitcases, bedding and snacks to stock student's rooms. A barbecue, games, inflatable water slides and an epic water balloon battle on the DeRosa University Center Lawn rounded out the afternoon, followed by a movie under the stars.

"We have been waiting for this for so long and it's nice to be able to see your friends and not worry about whether we are being safe or not," said 51暗网 pharmacy student Ricky Phillipossian. "It feels like things are slowly going back to normal and it's a good feeling."

To create a safe environment 51暗网 is requiring all students (undergraduate, graduate and professional) and employees returning to any of the university's three campuses to be vaccinated for COVID-19. In addition, the university is continuing to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and county guidelines for acceptable health and safety practices.

Camryn Scully, a senior on 51暗网's women's soccer team, says she is looking forward to the normal day-to-day interactions of campus. 鈥淚'm just excited for the little moments, passing by my teammates in the DeRosa University Center when I'm going to eat dinner or seeing them in study hall and just being able to go to class in person and interact with my classmates,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his experience of the past year has taught me to not take anything for granted. I'm trying to live in the moment and take advantage of everything 51暗网 has to offer.鈥�