Long Beach State kicked off the first two weeks of the spring semester online, causing a price change in parking permit packages and updates for dorm residents.

Parking

Since classes transitioned to remote learning from Jan. 20 through Feb. 4, the CSULB Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) department is offering semester permits at $189.

The overflow parking permit is also available for $94 a semester. CSULB students can park at the off-campus lot located at Cottonwood Church and take a shuttle to campus from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

PTS also added monthly parking permits for $45 a month, and other options are currently available for sale through the Online Parking Portal.

Chad Keller, the PTS digital content specialist said the department encourages students and staff to consider different forms of sustainable transportation to campus.

“Even choosing a sustainable mode of transportation just once per week can have huge impacts on our carbon collective footprint,” Keller said.

Long Beach Transit’s (LBT) Go Beach! Passes are still available for students to purchase at a discounted rate. Alternative methods include renting a bike through the Long Beach Bike Share or even carpooling with a friend.

On Campus Housing

Corry Colonna, CSULB executive director of Housing and Residential Life said the university dorms have received a “slightly higher number of room reservations this semester, with an anticipated number of nearly 3,000 residents.”

“We are likely to pull a few students off the waitlist, but that would be very few to maintain rooms for isolation,” he said.

Dorm Regulations

• All university dorm residents are required to receive the COVID-19 booster vaccine and take a PCR test within 72 hours of moving in, according to the University Housing website.

• Colonna also added students must also take a rapid test under observation once they’ve arrived, and another test seven to 10 days after moving on to campus.

“Weekly testing will begin again on Feb. 14, the same as last semester, where 25% of students will be tested each week,” Colonna said.

• When a dorm resident tests positive for COVID-19, they are required to return home to self-isolate but are also given the option to “isolate with another student in isolation,” if they absolutely cannot go home, according to the University Housing website.

Colonna said the University Housing department is working closely with Long Beach Health and Human Services “to prepare for the case of another surge.”

If there is a COVID-19 outbreak in the dorms, the isolation protocols will be utilized to contain students who were exposed to the virus.

When isolation beds are maxed out, all students will quarantine in their rooms, where meals are delivered to their doors, according to Colonna.

“In October 2020, we had a trial run for this type of thing when we had a cluster of positive [results],” he said. “It wasn’t easy for anyone, but we learned a lot and are prepared for that possibility.”

For more information on the University Housing’s COVID-19 protocols, visit their website.