The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) students packed up their belongings and headed back home on Tuesday after the university announced it would cancel all in-person undergraduate learning.   

Mackenzie Holland, a freshman from Chapel Hill was moving out of Ehringhaus Residence Hall. Holland said she lived in one of four areas of campus that experienced a cluster of COVID-19 cases. 

She added two of her suitemates got tested for the coronavirus on Sunday and had to be isolated in a nearby hotel that night after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. 

Holland said she thinks the headaches of moving in and out of campus within two weeks was worth it since she developed friendships with her roommates, but she's disappointed that others in her residence hall who got sick, possibly because of careless actions, contributed to the university's decision to reduce housing capacity and move classes online. 

"I definitely sobbed yesterday for like an hour about it," Holland said. "I kind of expected it, but I'm just kind of disappointed in my classmates and the people that are out partying and stuff because now I can't finish my college experience." 

Adding to the stress for Holland and her peers is the university's refusal to give students any time off of classes, though many professors are accommodating students' needs as they return home with their parents. 

UNC reported a spike in the percentage of positive COVID tests from Campus Health, with a jump from 2.8 percent to 13.6 percent in the last week, as of Monday. 

Three weeks still remain before classes start back up at the UNC campus in Charlotte, but concern is growing amongst the student body that Chapel Hill's conundrum is certain to be replicated.   

Student Gabe Cartagena has decided he'll take the semester off if he's forced to attend in-person instruction.   

"The administration all over the UNC system has just been ignoring the fact that we know that our demographic of students, as much as I hate to say it, has been particularly irresponsible, and responsible for the spread of this virus," he told the Associated Press.   

Tuesday, Tahlieah Sampson, the Charlotte campus' student body president, released the letter she sent to administrators urging a transition to complete virtual learning in light of outbreak in Chapel Hill.   

While Cartagena would love to see in-person classes canceled, he believes administrators will only take action after an outbreak occurs on campus.     

"They can't risk us dying while they're in session," he said. "That would be a PR nightmare for them." 

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. But it can cause severe symptoms in and be fatal for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.