By John Churchill
Many students at St. Lawrence University encounter challenges when they are leaving campus for the summer because of how quickly they are required to vacate their dorms. University policy says that all students must be moved out of their dorm within 24 hours of their last final exam or by 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11. Many people end up packing before their last final because they feel rushed by the policy and often end up leaving campus as soon as they can after their finals.
Adam Dwight ’22 was surprised to hear that the university required him to leave campus quickly after completing his last exam. “I thought it was kind of weird to be forced to move out within 24 hours of my last final,” said Dwight. He plans to pack all his things into his car before his last exam so that he can be ready to go as soon as his finals conclude.
Marian Churchill is a parent who will be making a six-hour drive to pick up her son after his last final exam. “We’re going to come up the day before his last final so we can get a lot of packing done and be ready to get off campus quickly after he’s done,” said Churchill. She continued on to say that she considered staying in a hotel the night after his exam but felt that it would be best pack before the exam because of the time constraints.
Jess Potter ’19 will be staying for senior week and graduation but expects moving out to be a stressful and very rushed process following her graduation. “Graduation starts at 10:00 a.m., then we need to be out of our houses by 6:00 p.m., so for someone who lives eight hours away like I do, it’s tough getting out in time and getting all your stuff while also saying goodbye to your home at St. Lawrence forever,” said Potter. She fully expects the moving out process to be chaotic, largely because it will be a very emotional afternoon for her and many other seniors.
Stacie Olney Lapierre works in the residence life department at St. Lawrence University and recognizes that moving out can be a challenging process for students. “We’re pretty flexible about letting people stay who are waiting for rides as long as they are quiet and respectful to their neighbors, who still have finals to take,” said Lapierre. Being able to stay longer than the rules allot could be very helpful to students who are unable to leave campus as soon as their finals end.
Dr. Adam Hill is a chemistry professor at St. Lawrence University who teaches a class that has a final exam on the last day of finals week. He thinks the university is very fair to students who have difficult travel situations after finals conclude. “One of the things I think St. Lawrence does well is that it brings both structure and rules but also a humanistic side of understanding that stuff happens,” said Hill. Even though students may run into challenges securing a ride, it is very helpful of the school to be willing to allow students to stay longer on campus if necessary.