(Photo taken by Parisa Kabiri)
Students often joke that as soon as you meet someone new on this campus, you start to see them everywhere: it’s that small and close-knit. Except when it comes to the breaks. That’s when Skidmore becomes a sort of ghost-town and those who stay are stuck in their dorms or apartments, trying to fill the aimless hours.
While other schools shut down and temporarily kick their students out, our campus stays semi-open for the few who cannot return to their respective homes. Yet for many of these students, especially international ones, the time spent on campus over break presents its own unique challenges.
Students can apply to stay for Thanksgiving, winter, and spring breaks (summer is a different beast).
Last winter, 404 students remained on campus for various reasons and amounts of time, as according to Natasha Bruce, Assistant Director of Residential Life for Housing and Operations. Forty-five students identified their reason as academic, 67 athletics, 109 self-identified international students, 18 off-campus employment, 14 on-campus employment, and 151 personal/other.
Students are not charged by Residential Life to stay over Thanksgiving, winter, and spring breaks. And while their office shuts down, there is always a person on-call who can take calls at anytime of day. If necessary, students can also contact Campus Safety, which never closes.
For many students, the only issue is finding hobbies and activities to fill your time. Kerry O’Brien ‘20, who stayed during the winter break of her Sophomore year and will again this year to work in Admissions, found that the two to three shifts a day weren’t enough to distract her from being alone on campus.
“Last time I stayed, I made scrapbooks for my friends,” she says. “And that took my entire day. Finding something to fill your time with because otherwise it becomes watching Netflix for the tenth hour this week.”
According to David Robakidze ‘20, SGA Executive President and an international student who has stayed on campus himself, there are two main issues that he hears about: transportation options (or lack thereof) and food security (as in not a consistent supply or access to food).
All dining services operations will shut down between Dec. 21 and Jan. 5, according to Mark Miller, the director of Dining Services. The Murray-Atkins Dining Hall is set to reopen Jan. 11, with limited hours until the 16. Meal plans begin again on the 17, and regular hours officially start the following day.
Individual experiences depend heavily on whether you live in a dorm or apartment, and obviously differs for those living off campus. Most obviously, the dorms do not have kitchens. And the dining hall operates on less hours and less staff, now that their main labour force — students — is gone. So when they close, you’re stuck with the vending machine or takeout — neither of which are stellar options.
O’Brien remembers getting three swipes into Spa. She now lives in the apartments with access to a car, and doesn’t feel that food security will be an issue.
Some international students receive a 300 dollar stipend through the Opportunity Program. The money is meant to be used for food and other necessities.
Haja Bah ‘21, a student who has stayed on campus for every break over two years now, explains that the stipend can seem like a lot of money, and is, but it’s still important for students to budget — especially if they rely on on-campus jobs for income.
Apartment life does provide students with a kitchen, but grocery shopping becomes difficult over the winter months with dangerous roads — if they have a car in the first place. If not, grocery shopping becomes reliant on the whimsy of CDTA, which begins coming every hour instead of every half hour during the December break.
Although nothing has come out of SGA just yet in effort to change the experience, Robakidze’s campaign identified this issue as one he wanted to focus on. As of right now, his main idea is to create a food pantry in the new Center in Case that relies on community donations.
While this maybe doesn’t solve the lack-of-a-kitchen issue, it does help students save money. For many, it “would be a cheaper and more convenient solution.” While ordering food is also an option, some people do not have the financial means to do so.”
“We’re still figuring this out, but SGA should have resources to offer,” Robakidze explains. “Not the full thing, but offering as much resources as possible to sustain it — which would also include making sure that the food that’s available is appealing to anyone, so any option or dietary restriction is met.”
In the meantime, students have always been invited to use the Falstaff’s kitchen, which goes relatively untouched during the year. However, Bah says “Falstaffs was the only kitchen and I figured out it would not cater to the needs of every student” because there’s only one oven and stove top.
And Bah is not alone in this. Many students voice the shorter dining hall hours, the neglected paths, the lone Falstaff's kitchen, and inaccessibility of grocery stores as being the main issue students remaining on campus face. However, the theme of isolation weighs heavy on both the minds of students and staff members involved.
In an effort to combat the emotional and mental toll, the International Friendship Family Program (IFFP) around 2007. The program matches international students with different local families, many of whom have direct ties to Skidmore — whether they be faculty or staff, current or retired.
Chloe Jaleel runs IFFP through Student Academic Services (SAS), where she is also the Academic Counselor and Coordinator of International Student and Scholar Services.
The program exists year-round, and does not actually require something be done around major holidays. Rather, both the students and families are encouraged to do what feels fun and workable for their lives. This may mean regular coffee dates throughout the semester, or hiking trips if the family is particularly outdoorsy.
“Based on what I hear from students, I would say that everyone’s experience of the program seems pretty unique,” Jaleel says. “Some students make a close connection with their families and see them regularly. Other connections are friendly but less frequent.”
There is no “correct” approach. And Jaleel doubts there is even a “typical” one.
Bah takes part in the IFFP and has one host family, but others that she communicates with. When asked if he ever took part in the program, Robakidze admitted that while he has wanted to go to the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners put on through SAS, he has not.
“I wish I always knew who [was doing it], who’s driving there, and who will be there,” Robakidze explains. “One way to make that experience better [would be] to spread the news on who is going to be here and what they’re going to be doing, so that there still is a sense of community.”
Surprisingly, there’s no Facebook page or group email that individually identifies the students staying on campus. So for many, it’s a bit of a guessing game, of asking one friend to ask another to see if they know someone who is also staying.
“I feel like the communication has to be tighter,” Bah says. “I just want whoever is staying here to feel like there’s a family and let us plan our winter break together if we’re staying, rather than just giving us stipends and telling us what’s out there.”
But it’s important to emphasize that Skidmore does not totally close down when it very well could. And that through the process of researching for this article, all of the departments have been open to hearing ways to improve the sense of community.
“The people that are staying here, you’re going to see your friends leaving and parents coming to pick them up and it gets sad, you get homesick,” says Robakidze. “But remember there’s people around here, you’re strong, you can make it. Just stay warm and take care of yourself.”