By Taylor Bowden / Assistant News Director

The campus of St. Cloud State University has seen little of its mobile and active student population these past weeks.

With the COVID-19 pandemic at hand, many students have gone home with the accessibility to online classes; leaving less than 200 students staying in single rooms to follow social distancing measures.

Popular hangout spots and eateries have been closed with no traffic to support the businesses that thrive in the Atwood Memorial Center, the heart of campus life. All the action has been moved online to virtual hangouts, videos and activities that can cater to an at home population.

Now, with all the vacant space, SCSU is prepared to use formerly shuttered North Benton among other dorms on campus as needed to help with displaced families and others impacted by COVID-19.