BY CHASE SCHERR chase.scherr@go.mnstate.edu

With the first semester of this year closing, the Housing staff of MSUM has been looking into the students staying on campus for winter break. 

The Housing Department, located inside of Ballard Hall, has been working to see how many students will be staying for the three-and-a-half-week long break coming up at the end of fall semester. They have been working on sending applications to students, some of whom may stay temporarily or some who may stay for the full break. 

“I think (the Housing staff) makes it pretty easy for people to sign up,” said Housing Director Joe Hazelton. “They just have to go to our webpage, and there is a link there that you can follow. We also do not charge anyone if they are choosing to stay for the break.”

Hazelton said that this could encourage people to stay if they don’t necessarily have another place to go, or if it is easier for them to stay. 

Depending on the number of students who wish to stay for the holidays, the number of Residential Assistants, or RA’s, to be on-duty throughout the winter break will change. 

“We go down to a smaller staffing structure,” said Hazelton. “We still have RA’s at every complex, but we provide a detailed schedule for who is where on what day.” 

The front desks in every complex are open a limited number of hours every day, so instead of an all-day operation, they will typically be open for only four hours.

In terms of dining, food options are pretty limited during break. Housing does provide a schedule of all of the options. Kise Commons will not be open on certain days, but options like the DragonCafe will be open most days, and the C-Store will have limited hours.  

“We at Housing hope to make sure that students are being proactive with staying over the break, and we try to see that they are also being safe as they are staying,” said Hazelton.