Juniors and seniors at Stanford University can live on campus this spring

Juniors and seniors at Stanford University will have the option to live on campus for the spring quarter, which begins in about one month.

There are already about 5,100 graduate students and 1,500 undergraduate students living on campus. Those students were approved to live on campus because of special circumstances. About 1,300 juniors and seniors have applied to live on campus during the spring quarter, which begins March 29. That number could go up.

In a letter to the campus community, Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Provost Persis Drell said the university would begin “moving forward with offering juniors and seniors the opportunity to return to campus for the spring quarter, with systems and safeguards in place to protect our community’s health.”

Modeling by Stanford’s School of Medicine “suggests that the trajectory of COVID-19 this spring is likely to be manageable,” they added. “We believe our campus is prepared to respond effectively to positive cases that occur.”

Drell and Tessier-Lavigne said the “chances are low of needing to make a change in this plan before classes begin.” They acknowledged concerns that students may disregard public health protocols but said they expect that the “vast majority of Stanford students, and hopefully all, will engage in responsible behaviors.”