The Tombs was packed on Monday night, probably one of the few times during the year that any Monday saw so many revelers. Students living in off-campus residences were reuniting and relaxing with friends after the winter break.
The opportunity to return to Washington a few days prior to the start of the new semester is not shared, however, by the 4,000 students who live on campus. Residence halls and campus apartment complexes re-open each spring semester exactly one day before classes begin. This does not leave much time for students to tend to the monotonous but necessary tasks that await us each semester. The traditional rush to unpack, buy books and go grocery shopping can be accompanied by transportation delays or even moving.
While Housing Services does an excellent job arranging early first semester move-in dates for students involved with activities like New Student Orientation and campus publications, similar preparations are not made in January. This means that everyone arrives on campus on the same day, leaving taxis struggling to reach the main gates and tired students waiting for elevators to reach their rooms. The worst consequence of this relatively late move-in is the line at the bookstore. Year after year, the line can be ten students thick and an attempt to buy textbooks can turn into a frustrating two-hour field trip.
Director of Media Relations Laura Cavender explained that students are prohibited from moving back in early for safety reasons. “To ensure student safety, we don’t feel it’s appropriate to have a handful of students living alone scattered throughout a large building that’s not fully staffed,” she said.
52 percent of Georgetown students study abroad. Every spring semester, many returning juniors move into a completely new residence. Some extra time to buy furniture and set up their new homes would facilitate their reintegration into Georgetown.
Furthermore, University offices re-open for business in early January. Many hire student employees who would gladly sacrifice a few days at home to return to campus early and work to replenish funds used up during vacation. The problem remains that most students do not have access to a place to stay.
At other universities, students look forward to returning early for a few days of taking care of trivial chores and celebrating pre-semester reunions stress free. With no textbooks to read or papers to write, we could finally do all those things we always say we will. The University has always encouraged us to utilize our city’s resources, and there is no better time to do so than after a long break from academia when we have no classes to attend.
It is simply not in keeping with the Georgetown culture to move back in before the last possible minute. Perhaps if the University permitted students to come back to on-campus housing earlier, we would not experience such a rushed return to school. While the costs of re-opening residence halls cannot be inexpensive, a short transition period between winter break and second semester would make life easier for both students and the administration.
