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.”