What a day in quarantine looks like for a student living in a dorm at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

After the fifth day of classes, Abolins and the rest of her 2,230 classmates living in Witte and Sellery Residence Halls were placed on lockdown.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi had urged the university to send on-campus students home, but the university announced that it would not close dorms.

Instead, they opted for stricter regulations and lockdown for the two residence halls.

While campus administration was working on the details of the quarantine plan, rumors spread.

Abolins said around 7 p.m., she and her roommate started hearing about a potential quarantine that was scheduled to start at 10 p.m.

If the rumors were true, they wanted to have supplies.

"At that point, we had no other information about how we were getting food, how trash was going to be taken care of — no other information whatsoever," Abolins told Insider.

Abolins said that around 8:30 p.m. the official email came that said students would be quarantined starting at 10 p.m. that night and lasting through September 23.

Each morning, she tries to take time to work out, and afterward, she'll eat breakfast.

She doesn't want to pay for breakfast from the dining hall, so she opts for something small, like a granola bar or banana from her snack supply.

Abolins had started the semester taking one in-person class and three classes online, but along with the quarantine, the entire university's classes were moved online until September 25.

The quarantine was put in place just over a week into the fall semester, so Abolins had only been to her in-person class once. She said she didn't realize how much she had missed being in a classroom.

"It was so nice and refreshing to be able to sit at a desk," she said. "If you had asked me how exciting it would be to sit at a desk a few months ago, I'd say it'd be rather boring."

She said she hopes the cases can get under control and that in-person classes can resume safely.

For the first day of the quarantine, the university distributed free breakfast and lunch in the residence hall's parking lot. A line quickly formed, and Abolins and her roommate waited outside to receive food.

Later that day, UW-Madison announced that students could leave for 30 minutes to go to the nearest dining hall to get food. For two weeks, that dining hall would only be used by students from the quarantined residence halls.

Abolins and her classmates are charged $4.99 for each swipe into the dining hall, which is deducted from her meal plan.

She said she initially thought it was confusing that the university would let students break quarantine to get food, but she also added that the walks have been the only chance she has to get fresh air.

"That has taken a toll mentally because you don't really think about the freedom to go outside," she said.

Since arriving at campus, Abolins has tested negative three times for the virus.

Abolins and her roommate have made sure to follow social distancing rules. However, she said that hasn't been the case for everyone on campus. In her few weeks on campus, she said she has already spotted large groups gathering outside and other students in her dorm having hangouts.

"We are not trying to get sick, so we opted out of fun by staying in our rooms," she said. "But a lot of other kids were not affording us the same respect."

She said she wasn't surprised that the university issued a quarantine. Since then, every student in each residence hall has been required to get tested.

The halls have also set up a table where residents can receive packages and deliveries.

Since Abolins' family lives close by, they've dropped off a few packages over the past week. Other students are getting meals and groceries delivered to the building.

Before dinner, Abolins will attend afternoon classes and work on some homework.

Afterward, she'll head back outside to pick up dinner. Abolins said she's been impressed with the meals so far, unlike other students quarantined at colleges across the country.

"The meals have actually been quite good," she said.

The food hasn't changed since she arrived on campus, and recently she's been opting for the sushi and poke bowls from the dining hall.

Abolins and her roommate are childhood friends, so she said it's been exciting to live together this year.

After a long day of classes, Abolins said they'll watch TV — most recently they've been hooked on "Selling Sunset."

However, she said that sharing a tiny room with anyone has its challenges. Alone time doesn't really exist, but they're coping by listening to music with sound-canceling headphones.

Abolins said the first thing she plans to do when the quarantine is over is to grab a coffee and go on a long walk.

"What this experience has shown me is that you really have to appreciate the little things," she said.

If you're a teacher, student, or parent who wants to share their story on what it's like to go back to school right now, get in touch at mhumphries@insider.com.

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