No Break from Residence Halls
Zach Betzen’s Spring Break will neither be filled with white
sand beaches nor lush ocean waves; but Betzen will spend his break
where few students will.
While many students living in residence halls leave campus for a
vacation or a trip home, Betzen plans to remain in Ingersoll Hall
during Spring Break because it takes him an entire day to drive the
500 miles to his hometown of Olathe, Colo.
“I don’t know if there will be much to do because there are only
three people I know staying in Ingersoll (Hall),” said Betzen, a
junior computer science major.
Mary Ellen Sinnwell, director of Residence Life, said staff
members maintain their positions in the residence halls despite the
relatively small number of students who remain in residence halls
throughout break.
“During break we have the same staffing positions as during the
academic year, so there is a variety of staff available to provide
a safe and secure environment for students,” Sinnwell said.
Students can stay anytime, but they should notify the desk so
staff members are aware of the number of students in the building
if there is an emergency, Sinnwell said.
Josh House, a freshman art major living in Braiden Hall, said he
will return to the residence halls a few days before break ends to
take advantage of the quiet atmosphere.
“I think it will pretty much dead,” House said. “It will give me
time to get some work done without being distracted by people
wanting to do stuff.”
Sinnwell said two changes to residence hall operations during
break include doors to residence halls remaining locked at all
times and residence hall dining facilities being closed.
The dining facilities will close at 2 p.m. on Friday and will
reopen at 7 a.m. on March 22.
Deon Lategan, director of Residence Hall Dining Services, said
maintaining the residence hall dining facilities during break would
not be cost effective.
“The meal plans are based on a 16-week semester and break is not
included in that because we want to keep costs as low as possible,”
Lategan said. “The vast majority of students go home so it wouldn’t
be fair to charge them for meals they don’t use.”
As a resident assistant remaining in Newsom Hall for Spring
Break, Brooke Davy agrees with the university’s logic in closing
dining facilities.
“Since so few students stay I don’t think it would be worth
their while,” said Davy, a sophomore human development and family
studies major.
Davy said that out of the 400 students occupying Newsom Hall,
she expects 30 or fewer to remain in the residence hall during
break.
While Davy is content to “hit King Soopers and go out to dinner”
to replace campus meals, Betzen said the closed dining facilities
will create a problem for him.
“Not having a meal plan will get expensive really fast,” Betzen
said. “I’ll probably have to go to Subway for every meal.”
Apart from of having to find another source of food during
break, Davy is looking forward to spending break in her deserted
residence hall.
“It’ll be nice and quiet,” Davy said. “I’m just looking at it as
a chance to relax and get stuff done so the rest of the semester
will run a little smoother.”
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