All students living, working or otherwise needing to be on campus for spring semester were expected to get a COVID-19 test as they arrived back in Pullman.

Beasley Coliseum has been the testing site for most asymptomatic students since Jan. 4, said Phil Weiler, WSU vice president for marketing and communications. 

Greek Life members were tested off-campus. WSU set up a facility on College Hill, in what used to be Stubblefields Bar. Greek houses had specific days assigned to them for testing, Weiler said.  

“It’s gone incredibly well. We’ve had over 4,600 students participate in arrival testing, which is just phenomenal, and we’ve had an extremely low positivity rate,” said Jill Creighton, WSU dean of students and associate vice president of student affairs.

Weiler said students with symptoms were asked to contact Cougar Health Services for a different testing location. 

The testing process at Beasley was fairly smooth, said freshman Corbin Riley, who is currently living on campus.

Riley said the whole process took less than ten minutes, and there was no line the day he went. 

The communication from the university he received beforehand was slightly confusing. The process could have been better explained, he said.  

Riley said he thought students were required to register for a test time in advance.

“It turns out you could actually just go and get tested,” he said. “So, the communication was not great. But also, it worked out just fine.”

Since students have been arriving back to campus, tests have indicated the student positivity rate was below the five percent positivity mark, which is the target for most communities, Weiler said. 

As part of the Cougs Cancel COVID initiative, WSU is having a 10-day Challenge, where students spend their first 10 days on campus strictly following various health guidelines, he said. 

Weiler said part of the challenge includes students finding their quarantine pod of five students or less. Students are also encouraged to wear masks, wash their hands and social distance. 

“We’re going to continue to be asking folks to do the right thing,” Creighton said, “and I’ve just been really, really thrilled to see most of our students doing exactly what they’re supposed to do.”