As spring break approaches, many students at San Diego State excitedly make their plans to vacation with their friends or go home to their families. Many other students stay in San Diego because of obligations that require their time during break.
However, as people form their plans, students living in the dorms run into one inconvenient problem.
Most of SDSU’s dorms close for nine days of spring break and freshmen are on their own to find a place to stay. All residence halls except for Cuicacalli, University Towers, Piedra Del Sol, and Villa Alvarado will close. Between 4p.m. on Friday, March 28 and 4p.m. on Sunday, April 6, students are not allowed access to their dorm rooms.
Hospitality and tourism management freshman Rose Bryant is from Kennebunkport, Maine and currently resides in Chapultepec Hall. She is on the Women’s Lacrosse Team at SDSU and has to stay local to attend games and practices. Unfortunately, staying in her dorm is not an option.
Being from Maine, Bryant has found it difficult to make arrangements for a place to stay during break.
“All of my family is back home,” she said. “I don’t have any family out here.”
On Fridays, she has class and lacrosse practice. Because Chapultepec closes at 4 p.m., she will have to pack all of her clothes and lacrosse items she will need during break, and find a place to store her luggage while at practice. After practice, she must find somewhere else to wait until her parents arrive in San Diego.
Bryant’s parents will be coming to San Diego for the first half of the weeklong break, where she will be staying with them in a hotel. Once her parents leave, Bryant will stay in a house with some of her lacrosse friends.
Bryant said she believes the mandatory closing of the residence halls is a huge inconvenience for her.
“There should be more options for people who have to stay for things like that,” Bryant said.
The Office of Housing Administration does not operate temporary housing, but does offer students the option to request “housing over the break” as part of their yearly application. This means students can live year-round in one of the six residence halls that remain open during breaks.
Office of Housing Administration Director Eric Hansen said that there were 690 first-time freshmen who requested housing accommodations that remain open over the break for this school year. He said all students were easily accommodated because the capacity of the four open buildings is more than 1,800 beds.
Bryant said she found this option to be inaccessible.
“I planned on (requesting housing over the break) because I had to come back for winter break, but the process is too long and difficult because they needed so many things,” Bryant said. “So I ended up staying with one of the girls on the team for winter break.”
Hansen said the cost of living on campus is not influenced by whether or not your dorm stays open during breaks.
“There is not currently a price differential for the halls that remain open over the break as all learning and thematic communities are charged the same, based on room type and not based on the different amenities or opportunities,” Hansen said.
Bryant believes there should be temporary housing options offered by the university.
“Students who live far away and can’t afford to fly home for that one week of spring break but want to live in Chapultepec or Zura—there are no options for them,” Bryant said.
