The Frustration of the Stayover Experience: SMU Lets Its Students Down (Again)
Written by Anonymous
Thumbnail & Banner Photo by MyNSFuture.ca
In the midst of a terrible housing crisis, SMU’s summer housing option is an especially attractive one for many. A decent room, furnishings included, a small kitchen, and two or three roommates for between $600 to $725 per month is a good deal compared to other options in Halifax. It is therefore no surprise that a lot of students will apply to stay in residence over the summer. Especially for those who have specific reasons for staying in Halifax: a job, escaping from a bad home life, travel being too expensive, summer classes, or anything else that might keep someone from heading home between academic years. Since the option for summer housing at Saint Mary’s is so strong, it then might occur to one going through this process to ask: why is the experience of being transferred between rooms—what the Housing department calls a “stayover”—so abysmal?
A “stayover” is the period between the end of the academic year and the day in which a student moves into their summer room. It is similar to the stayover period for students who opt to remain in residence during the winter break. In both cases there is an additional $200 charge to a student’s account, and in both cases the experience can be frustrating for a number of reasons.
Considering the uncertainty that many would face with the stayover period, some might think that the Housing department would communicate clearly and consistently. This is not the case, however. The communication from the Housing department on stayovers, and summer residence in general, is considered to be very lacking by the anonymous students we spoke with. Few emails are sent with only very general and vague information, and they are sent much later than most would find appropriate. Aside from the room confirmation email, and the email stating that the stayover itself is an option, students are unlikely to hear anything about their room until the very end of the semester, and even when asked directly the Housing department will refuse to divulge any information about room assignments. According to an anonymous student, it can take days for the Housing department to respond to their email, and even when they do their responses tend to be dismissive and provide little to no actual information. This can cause confusion and anxiety for many, especially those who have no other option and are eagerly counting on this information.
Another failure in the Housing department’s communication lies in how everything is sent out at the last minute. According to several students, it is a nearly universal experience for students staying for the summer to receive an email and be told they have less than 24 hours to vacate their old room and move to the new one, under threat of additional charges if they do not comply immediately, as outlined in page 42 of the Residence Handbook. This shows a complete apathy for those of whom this is simply not an option. Some people work multiple jobs, and may not be able to find the time to move on such immediate notice. Trying to argue this point with the Housing department can yield a resistance that even borders on hostility at times, with some students essentially being told that if they don’t like it, they should leave. When asked, one of our sources claimed that the Housing department told them that, “that’s just how it is. You can either deal with that, or find somewhere else to live.”
Another failure in communication from the Housing department stems from their lack of advertising regarding the conditions of a stayover experience. Once the academic year ends, the university goes into immediate cost-saving mode. Heating to rooms is reduced, and the majority of the food options on campus disappear entirely. This leaves students waiting for their move, especially those without access to a kitchen, with next to no options for food. They might be able to have breakfast at Tim Horton’s and get a salad or wrap from the C-Store for lunch, but these will hardly sustain someone who may now be working full time. This is not communicated anywhere in the emails regarding spring/summer stayovers, only in the emails regarding the winter stayover. It is an egregious oversight, and something that should be communicated front and centre, especially since at this point in the year students will be exhausted and have no money left—forcing them to either starve, or spend ridiculous amounts of money that they already cannot afford to lose. Though, one does have to ask: if the majority of students pay nearly $3000 per semester for their meal plan, then is it really that difficult for the university to afford to provide a basic meal option for the few students waiting on their summer rooms?
Nearly every student staying in residence during the stayover period has had to deal with these issues: the short notice and lack of communication, and the additional money spent on food and fees. For some, however, it can be even worse. Typically, the stayover period ends on May 1st. Every student who is staying for the summer is meant to be moved to their room by that day at the latest. However, some students have, in the past, received emails on the last day of April saying that in all likelihood they would not be moved by the end of the stayover period. In other cases, the Housing department has sent room assignment emails en masse to those staying in the summer, but containing just one student’s personal information (full name, student ID number, and assigned room), revealing it to a significant number of students in residence that summer. When asked about this situation, one student even wrote: “Myself and two of my friends got the same room assignment. We then read [the email] and saw it wasn’t addressed to us. We all got sent one student’s room assignment.”
In other scenarios, students have had to face being moved from their room in Rice, to a holding room in Loyola where they stayed for a few days to a week, and then back to Rice. It begs the question: why do those in the Housing department consistently fail at timely and reasonable communication, and why is it necessary for the stayover period to be so brutal on students’ emotions and wellbeing?
However, that is not to say that the stayover experience is universally terrible. In fact, several students indicated otherwise. “I was able to stay in the same room, so nothing really changed for me,” said one student when interviewed. They had lived in the Rice residence during the academic year, and were allowed to stay in the same room during the summer. “Besides having to think about paying rent, everything was basically the same.” This was a common perspective amongst those who were able to stay in the same room. Most of the students who were in Loyola or Vanier and did have to be moved or go without kitchen access said that they did not view the experience in such a negative light as others. To them, having no access to Dockside was not a significant concern, and the wait for their move date was brief and painless. When some of the issues mentioned in this article were brought up to these students, they were almost all surprised, and expressed a much lower level of distress.
Overall, it appears as though most students have a positive or neutral opinion of the stayover period, and that some people perceive some issues differently, or with more importance, than others do. However, those who experienced a disastrous stayover often experienced significant anxiety surrounding the move to their new room, or felt as though the university was not doing enough to make this situation easier for them. The lack of consistent communication by the Housing department, the most common complaint amongst students, only served to make this already stressful situation even more challenging.
The frustrating experience of staying in residence between semesters is indicative of issues which plague not just the Housing department, but also Saint Mary’s as an institution. The lack of communication is certainly not unique in this regard. It is something that is recognized by students and faculty alike, and was one of the main reasons for the recent overwhelming vote of no confidence. Considering the skyrocketing costs of daily life and the amount of stress a student already has to face, it should be the responsibility of the university to show compassion for those who elect to remain in residence, and it should be the responsibility of the Housing department to communicate well with these students so as to ensure as little stress as possible for them.