With Thanksgiving break approaching, Ohio University is preparing to house students during break for the first time.
All dorms on campus will remain open; however, Nelson Court will be the only open dining service, said Josh Bodnar, assistant director of Residential Housing at OU.
Bodnar also said Residential Housing is asking resident assistants and other residential staff members to stay during break, offering compensation to those who remain on campus.
“We will have a limited number of RAs remain on campus,” he said. “There will also most likely be reduced custodial services as well.”
Some students plan to take advantage of staying at school during break.
“It’s nice to be able to stay in the dorms over break because this way I can stay on top of my work,” said Jiexhong Zhang, a sophomore studying graphic design.
Bodnar said he plans on having an online survey to see how many students decide to stay during break, adding that “there don’t seem to be any unanticipated costs so far.”
Since this is the first year that the dorms need to stay open during break, Bodnar said he predicts that only athletes, international students and some domestic students who can’t make the trip home will stay in the dorms during break.
Students staying aren’t worried about their on-campus food options during break.
“I don’t think Nelson will get too crowded,” said sophomore Emily Milleman, a Tiffin Hall resident. “If I were to stay at school over break, I would want a really good meal, like a traditional Thanksgiving meal.”
Nelson will be open for normal breakfast hours; however, lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. every night during break, rather than its usual times of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., respectively.
All dining halls will re-open by dinner Sunday with the exception of Shively Court, which will remain closed until Monday, Bodnar said.
Bodnar said he believes the operation of the dining halls will be an experiment and Residential Housing will plan future years based on the success of this year.
jr200009@ohiou.edu
