Spring Break
Residence, dining halls to stay open over spring break
Julie Stagis
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: News
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.
"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.
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