It's a quiet break for students who stayed on campus

In the last two weeks of the year, most students were at home enjoying the holidays with their families. But College junior Tina Kartika stood in her Harrison apartment, waiting for hot water to finally reach her room so she could shower.

Like just a few other undergraduates, Kartika chose to stay on campus instead of making the journey home to California.

Originally, her plan was to use the break to study for the Medical College Admission Test at home, but she decided instead to stay at Penn to explore other parts of Philadelphia beyond campus. “My mom works all the time anyway, so even if I were to go back home, I wouldn’t have gotten to spend time with her,” she said.

While Kartika typically celebrates Christmas and New Year’s, she said that she didn’t really observe them on campus. “I went out into the city and kind of explored places like Chinatown and Center City. It was really interesting to see the city in a different season and atmosphere,” she said.

On campus, Kartika was one of the few people left in Harrison College House — a building usually populated with more than 1,000 students. Without people constantly using water, hot water took several minutes to reach her room, she said. “I even called maintenance about it before I realized it was just because everyone was gone,” she added.

Kartika was lucky that she was allowed to stay in her own apartment over break, but she said that the experience of living there was very different. “I didn’t really see people besides maybe sometimes in the elevator or swiping in. I didn’t receive any emails from Harrison about House events or anything like that either,” she said. “The guards were still there, but that was about it,” she added.

The atmosphere on campus was different too. “I feel like when school isn’t actually in session, it’s a lot quieter and more peaceful. People aren’t rushing anywhere. A lot of times they’re just out walking,” she said.

College and Wharton sophomore Philip Li had a similar experience to Kartika. Because his parents live in China, Li had never planned on going home. When plans to go on trips with his friends fell through, Li stayed in his Harrison apartment.

While Li got to know some other students who were also on campus, for the most part, he said that campus was empty. “During the semester, you have to book a room in Huntsman if you want to go there. Over break, you could just walk in,” he said.

Li and Kartika both have the fortune of living in a college house that remained open over break, but other students weren’t so lucky. While Rodin, Harrison and Harnwell College Houses remained open to students for the duration of break, Kings Court English, Hill, Stouffer, Du Bois and Gregory College Houses and all houses in the Quadrangle closed on Dec. 20 and did not reopen until Jan. 10.

In previous years, the University did not have any resources available to students living in those houses who wanted to stay over break. Yet for the second year, some students were allowed to move into unoccupied rooms for the duration of break — at no cost to them.

“We worked with the Assembly of International Students to find students who didn’t have anywhere else to go. We even opened it up to some domestic students who wanted to be on campus for whatever reason,” said Building Administrator for Residential Services Paul Forchielli.

This year, the program placed a total of 19 students into empty apartments in Sansom Place. These rooms were already empty, as they had housed international students who were only on campus for the fall semester, Director of Residential Services John Eckman said.

“It was a really great opportunity for students who didn’t have anywhere else to go because it allowed them a place to stay without racking up thousands of dollars in hotel bills,” Eckman said.

Students who made use of the program did not have to pay for it. Since the apartments had just been vacated, students lived in the rooms before Residential Services brought a cleaning staff in to prepare it for the new semester.

“This was a very bare-bones, take it as-is type of situation for these students. We had them move out a day or two early, and brought the cleaning staff in then,” Eckman said. “Because the University wasn’t accruing any extra cost by allowing students to stay there, we didn’t feel the need to charge them.”

While the program allowed students a place to stay, other basic campus amenities remained closed. All the dining halls were closed until Jan. 13, and the mail and package rooms were closed to all college houses except for the high rises — even if a resident of one of those houses remained on campus.

“We would hold the package for them until after break, but they would not have access to it,” Forchielli said.

Even more limiting was the students the program was available to. “We only offer this program to students who were with us in the fall and will be with us in the spring,” Eckman said. “If you were studying abroad and need a place to stay in the transition, or if you live off campus – that is not the purpose of this program.”

While Kartika and Li knew nothing of this program, Wharton and Engineering junior Angela Qu, who did not return home to Shanghai over break, saw the program’s impact. While Qu did not participate in the program herself, as a year-long resident of Sansom Place, she lived amongst students the program housed.

While Qu said she knew there were some freshmen living in Sansom Place for the break, she was not aware that it was part of a program organized by Residential Services. “My freshman year, I was kicked out of my dorm, so I stayed at one of my friend’s houses,” she said.

Like Kartika and Li, though, Qu had a relatively similar experience on campus. “Literally nothing was open, and it was pretty [much] radio silence from the University itself,” she said. “I like to study in cafés, and usually it’s a struggle to find a spot, but there were always plenty of available seats over break,” she added.

All three students commented on the lack of programming or resources for students on campus. Other than having a place to stay and use of basic facilities like laundry rooms, students were left much to their own devices.

While housing students over break is relatively uncommon for universities, the lack of communication or resources for students still on campus is not. The vast majority of schools across the country close down dining halls and residential halls, and only a few allow students to stay in University housing during winter break.

“We didn’t really look at other schools,” Forchielli said. “This was really just about looking at our students and designing a program to fit our needs.”

A previous version of this article referred to the Association of International Students instead of the Assembly of International Students. The DP regrets the error.

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