Dear Students,

We hope you enjoyed a restful Thanksgiving break, and are looking forward to the end of the semester. This message is a follow-up to our previous messages about fall closing, which takes place 12pm ET on Friday, December 22, 2023. Our records indicate that you will continue to live on-campus in the Spring semester, so do not return your room key and please know that you are allowed to keep your personal possessions in your room over the winter break period. The residence halls will reopen on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 8am. For more information on Spring Opening, refer to our website.

If you need to request on-campus housing during any portion of the Winter Break period, you must complete the Winter Break Housing Form by the priority deadline of December 7, 2023 at 11:59pm ET. 

Before You Leave:

• Complete the Self-Check-out Process on the Online Housing Portal once you are ready to leave the building. This step notifies our staff that you are gone and turns off your card access. Failure to complete this step may result in an improper check-out fee and/or extended housing charges.

• Take your room key(s) - do not return your room key if you are returning to the same room assignment for Spring 2024. 

• Do not leave your room key in your room over break. Lock out fees will apply if you need to be let into your room to retrieve your key when you return.

• Take your Brown ID, government-issued ID, passport, medications, and if applicable, plane/train tickets.

• Take all valuables with you. Please also utilize the Department of Public Safety’s Property Registration program. 

• Close and lock all your windows. If any windows or locks are broken, please call Facilities Management at 401-863-7800. (If your windows have screens and storm panes, please raise the screen and lower the storm window and then lock the main window).

• Properly dispose of all trash and open food from your room and refrigerator. Use designated trash rooms. Trash and food may not be left in the hallway. Do not throw away food trash in restroom trash cans. Custodial services will be curtailed for the first weeks of the break, meaning trash left in dorm rooms or restrooms may not be removed until full staffing returns in January.

• Unplug all appliances except refrigerators to protect your electronics from potential power surges.

• Take any pets or animals home. Any student found to have left an animal (approved or non-approved), including fish and reptiles, alone in their residence hall room over break will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards or the Department of Public Safety. Students may also lose the ability to house the animal on campus in future semesters.

• Water and cover your plants with plastic bags if you cannot take them home. Do not leave plants in the bathroom.

• Lock all doors and shut off lights.

• Turn thermostat (if applicable) to a 50 degree setting.

• If your roommate is not returning, please leave your room “move-in ready” as it is very likely you will be assigned a roommate for Spring 2024.

• If you have had any restricted items confiscated by the Office of Residential Life or Environmental Health and Safety during the Health and Safety Inspection process, you are responsible for retrieving these items prior to your departure for the winter break. To make arrangements for pick up, please email reslife_facilities@brown.edu. All unclaimed items will be discarded on Friday, December 22, 2023 at 5pm ET.

Sincerely,

Amanda Surgens

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Director of Residential Operations

Office of Residential Life

Brown University | Providence, RI 02912