The College makes it very difficult for juniors to be on campus during Interterm after studying abroad in the fall.

I am a member of the ski team and so I returned to campus a day after Interterm started. I now live in a room that was vacated by one of my friends who went abroad this semester, and who had moved out by the end of finals in December; however, campus housing didn't allow me move in until well after Interterm had started. That means that for a few days I had to live in a friend's room and wasn't able to unpack. Officially, students who were not here in the fall were allowed to move in on January 17th, and I was somewhat luckier because I could move into my room a week before that-it didn't help me, though, because the ski team was away for a week training and racing.

The College offers absolutely no solution as to where to stay during Interterm if you were not here in the fall. This problem affects many students (there were four of us on the ski team) including those playing a winter sport who need to be back on campus or those who were here for jobs or for this year's business seminar. They also do not receive access codes to enter the dorms until they get their keys (though this isn't very important since it is so easy to use someone else's code).

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I was unable to eat at Valentine until the 17th. This was a problem for breakfasts since the ski team ate breakfast every day before going to the slopes, and the team had to pay for our breakfasts, which clearly should not have been its responsibility. And for anyone who was abroad and wanted to be here for all of Interterm, that would be over 30 meals that he would have to pay for (I was fortunate enough to receive lunches made by Valentine that we took with us skiing, and since we were away for a week I didn't have to worry about this too much). It is also not very desirable to go out to eat if you don't have a car and when the average temperature is below freezing as it was for much of Interterm.

It is difficult to deal with the problem of housing since some students who will be leaving their rooms still need time to move out, but at least in my situation I should have been able to move in earlier and not have had to try to find another room to temporarily stay in. And there is no reason why the school should not provide meals to those who are here during Interterm, considering how little it would cost, and the inconvenience for those that do not have meals provided.

Jon Edwards '04