Although most UI students have moved out of their residence halls, a handful have chosen to keep living on campus until the semester ends — Madison Dabolt, a junior, is one of those students who stuck it out.
University of Idaho’s campus closed its doors to nonessential functions and switched to online coursework after spring break, but the student residence halls remain open to those who choose to stay.
Dabolt, a math major, said she chose to stay on campus through the end of the semester because she’s from a small town where the internet connection can be spotty.
“I’m doing OK, but I’m lonely and stressed,” Dabolt said. “It’s hard to be engaged in classes when you’re not actually there.”
UI’s Residence Halls normally house around 1,400 students at a given time, according to John Kosch, marketing director for UI Auxiliary Services, but that number dropped to roughly 300 students after spring break.
Kosh said 28 of 55 resident assistants (RAs) who serve those residents have remained in their jobs on campus, despite the drop in resident numbers.
“For the remaining 20% of the residents, we still have 51% of RAs serving them,” Kosh said.
Dabolt, who lives in McConnell Residence Hall, said UI should offer the residents who are still left in the residence halls partial refunds for the remainder of the semester. She said there is no longer an RA working in her dorm, and although the administration has provided other mental health support options to dorm residents such as phone support from the Counseling and Testing Center, the lack of face-to-face support has been difficult.
Madison Dabolt | Courtesy
“It is tough not having an RA. You can’t just walk down the hall and say, ‘Hey I’m having a really rough time,’” Dabolt said. “You have to go through this whole rigmarole of calling the testing center, calling this other number — getting through all of that just to talk to someone.”
All lounges, computer labs and other amenities have been closed to students.
“Everything we should have access to is no longer something we can do,” Dabolt said. “It seems a little dumb to be paying as much as we do pay for these rooms when none of those amenities are included anymore.”
One of the most notable changes to campus living is in the operations of the Hub Dining Hall, Dabolt said. The food options at the Hub have been reduced due to the drop in residents and operative changes to adapt to Idaho’s statewide stay-at-home order.
“I also think (the administration) should give (the students remaining on campus) an out for the dining hall,” Dabolt said. “They cut that back so much that it’s not worth the insane amount of money you have to pay for it.”
Students who moved out of their residence halls have the option to received prorated refunds on their rooms and meal plan cancelations, but students who are still living in their dorms do not have the option to cancel their meal plans, Kosh said.
When asked if UI could do anything better to serve students, Dabolt said the administration should continue correspondence with remaining student residents to best figure out their needs.
“Our lives have been upended, but so have the lives of a lot of the officials at the university,” Dabolt said. “This is a learning experience for us all, and I think getting a better gage of what all of us think is probably a wise way to go.
Ellen Dennis can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ellenldennis