Due to the success of keeping residence halls open over Thanksgiving break, students will now have the opportunity to stay on campus during spring break.
"The most important reason for [keeping residence halls open] is that we believe students are able to extend their intellectual and academic life on campus in a relaxed way," said Steven Kremer, executive director of ResLife.
More than 700 students stayed on campus this past Thanksgiving break.
Although there was initially some concern over whether students would behave appropriately when classes weren't in session, the students proved they could handle it.
"We felt like it went very well," Kremer said. "We were very appreciative that the students treated the community in a way that we would expect UConn students to treat their community."
According to Kremer, UConn staff was eager to have students on campus during break.
"They're here anyway," Kremer said regarding UConn workers, such as the police department and Student Union staff. "Nobody saw it as anything but a positive step forward. I was really pleased to have all the departments say they were here anyway, so they were happy about it."
Staying open over recesses does not add a significant cost to the university's expenses, Kremer explained.
"The only cost involved that's significant is giving additional pay to the CAs who do extra days of duty, and that's still nominal," he said.
Kremer also pointed out that CAs benefit from the opportunity to work more. "Out of the 300 CAs on campus, there is a significant number who are interested in earning some extra income, or who are interested in staying over break themselves," he said.
Since heat is already kept on in the residence halls during break, having students in them doesn't affect costs much, according to Kremer.
Dining Services is still making adjustments to procedures to accommodate this new program.
For spring break, McMahon dining hall will remain open all week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast will be served from 7 to 9:30 a.m., lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and dinner will be served from 4:30 to 7 p.m., according to C. Dennis Pierce, director of Dining Services.
Over Thanksgiving break, Buckley and McMahon dining halls both remained open. Only about 30 students ate at Buckley per day, according to Pierce.
Officials are still discussing meal payment methods during break, since meal plans shut down after dinner on Friday, March 6, and reopen on Sunday, March 15. During Thanksgiving recess, students were able to pay with additional points they had purchased outside of meal plan points, or with cash, Pierce said.
Many students need to stay on campus over short breaks and are happy with this new policy.
"I think it's really good for people who live out of the country or across the country. They might not be able to afford travel plans just for five days," said Shreya Joseph, a 5th-semester marketing major.
"Also, a lot of people have on-campus jobs, so staying here would allow them to make money over the week," she added.
Kremer agrees. "I hope that it helps students with their travel plans. I think it opens up alternatives and helps people save money, being able to price an airline," he said.
"I think UConn doesn't want to be a 'one size fits all' university. There are just a tremendous number of students whose involvements carry over to breaks," Kremer said. "It really is to help students either catch up at school or get ahead. It should be a way for students to get academic work done in a relaxed environment."
"It's not like UConn goes away, so why not be available for students?" Kremer said.
Students who are staying in residence halls anytime over Spring Break (from Friday, March 6, through Saturday, March 14) must log into My Housing on the ResLife Web site and list the dates they will be on campus.
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