29 Comments
New Year’s Eve ball drop? Skating at Rockefeller Center? Going below 96th St? Your magical winter in New York may be jeopardized! For the first time, Columbia is requiring students to register in order to stay in housing over winter break. Registration is not only mandatory for entering your own dorm, but any Columbia residence building. According to the Housing website:
Approved students access will be changed in the system at each residence hall beginning at 5pm on December 23. In addition, a list of students who have registered will be provided to the guard at each residence hall entry. No registration, no entry.
Visitors are able to be signed-in throughout the Winter Break period (other Columbia students who did not register to stay during Winter Break may count as visitors).
In order to register, you must complete an application by 5 pm today. And it’s not even guaranteed! Bizarrely, you have to specify a reason for staying, “coursework,” “enjoy NYC without classes,” etc. Once you have completed the form, you will not be notified until Friday, December 17th, of a confirmation of your eligibility. Cutting it close!
Photo via Wikimedia
Loading …
29 Comments
@ugh Barnard’s been doing this forever and it’s not guaranteed (meaning your reason has to be legit) and we get billed $100. It’s ridiculous.
@barnard is not part of columbia the end.
@Agreed... this article’s tone is really unnecessary. Most of us have known about this since the beginning of the semester. They aren’t charging us to stay or closing the dorms, they just want to get a realistic number of how many students are here over break to ensure they are well prepared to support them.
Stop trying to sensationalize, Bwog.
@Actually Knows Whats Up The confirmation means nothing, if you register you can stay. I’m an RA and on the Student Staff Advisor board that discussed this. It’s mainly because the vandalism and theft numbers shoot up over the break. Columbia Res Programs just wants estimates on who is staying so that in future years they can justify hiring more staff during these periods. The whole “needing to be confirmed” is just a weird part that came with the website. Columbia isn’t looking toward making students pay to stay over break and isn’t looking toward closing the halls over winter break. This article is trying to get people riled up over nothing.
@Anonymous it’s not only security officers, there will be fewer housing staff in the residence halls, fewer health care providers & transportation provision on & around campus AND during a time when it’s safe to presume injuries & illnesses will be more prevalent.
@yep Admin has found Bwog
@you can cut back on staff just as easily without barring people from entering their dorm rooms
@I am not even staying in nyc this break but i signed up anyway. Even if I don’t need it, I still want swipe access. They can’t just take it away during the year
@WE're not gonna take it no we’re not gonna take it! We’re not gonna take it anymore!
@Harmony Hunter just woke up guys, what’s going on?
@Harmony Hunter the article forgot to mention – is this happening in all the dorms or just harmony? actually the answer to that question is irrelevant to me :(
@Anonymous I think we have to much security at the best of times!!!! Less people, less staff- no worries. We are not kids, I am fed up with being wrapped in cotton wool. I THINK SWIPE ACCESS TO ALL BUILDINGS OR MAKE KEYS LIKE ALL OTHER BUDGET NEW YORK BUILDINGS!! Public safety doesnt need to exist. If there is a real problem- call the police. Would save us all a lot of money. Keep cava though- free health care saves lives!
@Good Yeah and when a moron goes jogging in the park at 11pm with her brand new iPhone and gets robbed we all take personal responbility too, right?
Bwog comment sections don’t at all become endless streams of people bitching for CU security to do their job. Right.
@this is utter bullshit, we cant even have guests in our room?
@yes you can You just have to sign them in; there are no guest passes.
@don't get too worked up. There was an email about this ages ago (October, maybe?) and people who signed up then have already received confirmation that they will have access to their rooms. Besides, it’s not as if Columbia is removing your belongings from your rooms, they are just asking you to fill out a form.
@I signed up a while ago and never received my confirmation??
@Same Here No confirmation yet…
@ditto I chose “enjoy NYC without classes” but when I check the application now, it says that my reason is “Select from the choices below” or something to that effect. FML.
Housing also sent me a weird email saying that I had key out, even though the last key I checked out was returned within 2 hours :(
@Keys are fun. I once returned one promptly, but the guy at the desk forgot to tear off the top sheet and give it to me so I could crumple it up and throw it in the trash. As a result, it was considered not returned, and when I went to set things right, the woman I spoke to yelled at me for not making the guy at the desk do his job.
@same thing happened to me. But then a few times I was forgiven my debt because I was in a hurry but refused to pay $5 with anything but a debit/credit card.
@umm When can we move back in if we didn’t register?
I was planning on returning the 15th
@Anonymous eep, mine says that too. And I have jury duty, which is actually a legit reason to need to stay in the city. they’d best let me into my dorm.
@anon Huh, this will help maintenance out. Last year I came back on new years and maintenance was unaware that any students were even on the floor. Conveniently, my suite was next to the lounge, and when they were on break (all day) they would relax in the lounge and relieve themselves in my suite’s restroom and not flush, miss the toilet, etc. What a nice surprise to return to on new years.
@Anonymous yes it is; diminished staff
@Why would that matter? You still are going to have the one security guard that checks i.d.’s. As long as he is around there is no reason to not let all students in.
@wow you must have no concept of how many staff members it takes to have all the students in housing. all the maintenance, and you think one public safety guy will be enough? do you know how many parties there will be? i doubt columbia feels comfortable having a bunch of students with no classes living in buildings with diminished staff. it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.
@T.K is this for security purposes?
@ahh Columbia Why hast thou forsaken me?!?