As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the country, many universities like ULM are taking precautions to stop the spread of the virus.

One of these preventative measures includes the COVID-19 self-check form that must be completed daily.

All students are required to complete this form whether they live on or off campus and if they have in person, online or hybrid classes, according to Valerie Fields, the vice president for Student Affairs.

“With the consistent uptick of cases in our state and region, the university is using the daily self-check as a proactive measure to mitigate large numbers of outbreaks,” Fields said.

According to Fields, the daily COVID form was chosen instead of any other precaution such as required COVID testing because the test is “very uncomfortable.” But for some students, the form has become a hassle.

Asia Wilson said it seems unnecessary for students who are attending school completely online to fill out the form. Since she’s a senior nursing major, she’s required to fill out the daily form for ULM and the same form again for Kitty DeGree School of Nursing.

“It can be very tedious, especially if I’m already running late for class,” Wilson said.

Wilson recommended students on campus to have their temperatures taken at every class, but said she believes “ULM is doing the best they can under the circumstances.”

However, Fields mentioned it’s not only ULM requiring these COVID forms.

Other UL System universities such as the University of Louisiana Lafayette, Louisiana Tech University and Grambling State University are also requiring the forms.

But Katelyn Klingman, a junior child and family studies major at ULL, said her school has not required students to fill out the COVID self-checker forms.

And Klingman’s not the only one. According to Bailey Eaton, a senior speech-language pathology major at LA Tech, the COVID forms have not been enforced, and she didn’t know much about the form.

But Eaton said students are encouraged to be tested for COVID if symptoms show and free testing is offered to students at LA Tech.

“I just wish students and faculty were required to be tested for COVID upon returning from extended breaks like Christmas or Mardi Gras break,” Eaton said.

While different precautions are being taken at different universities, Wilson and Eaton said they both feel safe on campus.