Pay Sion Chou, an incoming College of Arts and Sciences freshman, enjoyed her summer class, introduction to drawing, even though ‘three hours standing is pretty tiring.’ The summer term at Boston University helped her get used to the university and prepare for the coming year.
Of course, she didn’t have a choice.
‘I couldn’t go home [to Taiwan] because of SARS,’ Chou said. ‘My dad wanted me to stay in Boston.’
BU’s policy regarding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-infected countries required Chou to be in the United States at least 10 days prior to the start of school and limited her ability to go home.
However, most students at BU can choose whether or not they want to be on campus during the summer. From freshman orientation to a ballet camp, BU dorms are busy during the summer months, often housing more than 3,000 people, according to Office of Housing director Marc Robillard.
‘We usually have around 1,200 [summer school] students here, and when orientation and the camps are here, you can easily add another 2,000,’ Robillard said.
Other individuals may visit the university or use the facilities on campus for meetings and conferences, Robillard continued.
The Office of Conference Services brings in another 8,000 to 10,000 people for summer term, according to Director Diane Wall. While the Office of Housing handles lodging for students taking classes over the summer and other academic groups, OCS provides accommodations for short-term stays, such as sports camps, academic conferences and student and parent orientations.
‘We let them use classrooms, we give them a meal plan it’s for people who are looking for a more campus experience,’ Wall said.
Robillard and Wall would not share non-academic room and board rates, but said they vary based on who was hosting the event and the type of room desired. Groups sponsored by a BU professor or coach receive lower rates than ones with no connection to BU, and rooms with air conditioning and ‘amenities’ soap and linens are more expensive than those without, Robillard said.
Dormitory residence rates for summer term students vary from around $800 to $1,100 per six-week term. Apartment-style residences are more expensive at $1,000 to $1,300, according to the BU Summer Term website.
Students living in a dormitory also must purchase a meal plan, which ranges from approximately $650 to $900.
Summer term students usually live on Bay State Road, South Campus or in dormitory-style apartments like 722 Commonwealth Ave., Robillard said. Camp attendees stay in West Campus, in close proximity to BU’s athletic facilities.
Parents and conference attendees may be lodged in air-conditioned buildings, such as the Student Residences at 10 Buick St., Shelton Hall or 1019 Commonwealth Ave.
Students attending summer orientation and other miscellaneous groups are housed in Warren Towers, according to Robillard.
High school students who come to BU stay in The Towers. Instead of separating the genders by floor, males are housed in one tower while females are in the other.
‘It actually is a problem when it comes to high school students,’ Robillard chuckled.
But BU during the summer isn’t just about runaway teenage libidos. The OCS provides housing for such events as the Police Executive Research Forum and hosts conferences for many different corporations, including Canon. BU is currently in the middle of a multiple-year contract with the Boston Ballet, and houses over 300 dancers every summer, according to Robillard. These and other events turn buildings that would be useless during the summer into income for BU.
‘We like to use the facilities as a revenue producer,’ Robillard said.
However, most of BU’s summer population is made up of summer school students and members of BU-sponsored and taught groups, like Upward Bound, a college prep program for low-income Boston Public High School students who may be the first in their families to attend college.
‘Seeing all these different people around is great from a promotional standpoint,’ Robillard said. ‘We love having high school students here, not only to show them the great city of Boston, but also so BU can get the best students out there.’
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