Following Boston University’s decision to proceed with its hybrid model in the Spring semester, some on-campus students are looking to stay over winter break while others are planning to return after spending the Fall semester at home.
Spring Recess is also canceled as part of the University’s decision regarding next semester, resulting in a week-long extension to winter break.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said winter housing accommodations for students are still being finalized and that as of now, the demand remains unclear. He said BU will gauge demand for winter housing accommodations by communicating with students via the BU Housing website.
“We know that some students would like to remain and will choose to remain, and they’ll be the ones that will be considering those options,” Riley said. “We have students who do that every year, and we’re able to help them through that. But because of COVID, there are other factors in play and we need to go through that process of determining what we’re able to offer.”
On-campus residences will close Dec. 20 at noon, according to the BU Housing website.
Riley added that charges for winter housing are also still being finalized and are subject to change depending on individual circumstances.
“We just don’t know what everyone’s individual claims are,” Riley said. “When it’s rolled out, students will be able to make those decisions that suit their purposes.”
Riley said it is too early to tell whether more students will opt to live on campus in the Spring than did this Fall, but that the enrollment rate during the Fall 2020 semester was slightly higher than the University anticipated, with 97 percent of undergraduates continuing their education either remotely or in person.
This year’s winter move-out dates will be announced in November, but Riley said students can expect to see an extended move-in period in January, similar to the one offered in August.
“The good news is it isn’t as difficult to schedule a flight,” Riley said. “Having an extended move-in period gives you a little more flexibility.”
Angela Song, a sophomore in the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, lives in 90-92 Bay State Road — part of year-round housing — and plans to stay over winter break. For Song, who lived at 575 Commonwealth Avenue during the summer, staying in her on-campus residence during break makes more sense than returning home to South Korea.
“We don’t think that it’s necessary and it’s just a waste of time,” Song said. “I do really want to go back home, but it’s just too risky.”
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Eda Turan had decided to stay home during the Fall, but is planning to move back to campus in the Spring. Turan said moving onto campus will provide a better learning environment.
“Right now, I have a younger brother and a younger sister and they’re also doing online school,” Turan said. “So it’s kind of difficult to concentrate.”
Turan, who currently lives in New York, is a transfer student, so this year is her first at BU.
“I just want to have the experience of living on campus because my old school, I was a commuter there,” Turan said. “So I never got that experience.”
Turan said she has some hesitations about moving to a campus environment during a pandemic but plans to proceed with her housing application.
“I am concerned that there are going to be people that don’t wear their masks and refuse to wear them or refuse to social distance,” Turan said. “Other than that, I feel like it’s going to be pretty normal.”
