Parent and Family Newsletter

December 2024 Newsletter

Student Activities- Division of Student Activities

Greetings Parents and Family Members,

Soon our students will be heading home for a well-deserved winter break. Although we hope that you and your student will have much to celebrate and be thankful for this season, we acknowledge that some students may have experienced a challenging semester. As your student arrives home, you have a great opportunity to provide support and encouragement. In your conversations over break, you might ask your student if they are planning on joining a club, thinking about an internship or if they need extra help with their courses. Please remind them about Eastern’s many resources and direct them to Eastern’s website to access more information Current Students - Eastern (easternct.edu).

Many departments and organizations will spend their winter break planning spring programs for our students. The Campus Activity Board will kick off the spring semester with numerous events during Welcome Back Week which will take place January 22- 26, 2025. In addition, the Student Activities Office will host another Student Involvement Fair on January 29, 2025. We hope our students will explore the many student-run clubs and organizations and find ways to connect and get involved. And of course, we will be planning some spring programs and initiatives for you as well! Information will be shared in the next Parent newsletter and posted on the Parent Facebook Group Eastern CT State University Parents | Facebook.

Lastly, please keep the following in mind:

If your student rented textbooks from Eastern’s Bookstore, they must be returned by Monday, December 16th. If students are unable to return their textbooks in person, they can ship them back by logging into their account on the Eastern bookstore website and print a shipping label. Books received after Dec. 17th will incur a late fee.

If your student is running low on Dining Dollars, you can add Express Cash to your student’s Eastern Express Card. To deposit funds, visit Deposit Funds - Eastern (easternct.edu). For more information on Eastern’s Dining Services and meal plans, visit Meal Plan Information - Eastern (easternct.edu).

If your student is experiencing a food insecurity, please send them to Shawn’s Cupboard. Shawn’s Cupboard is an on-campus food pantry that combats food insecurities for Eastern students. Located at the Knight House (behind Winthrop Hall), the Cupboard is open Monday through Friday, 10am-5pm (please note the Cupboard will close on Dec. 6 at 5pm and will reopen at the start of the spring semester). Shawn’s Cupboard is free and confidential for all Eastern students and no appointment is needed.

Best wishes and enjoy your time with your student!

Casey Kensey

Director of New Student and Family Programs

Spring Orientation is Officially Open!

Adjusting to Having a College Student Home for Winter Break

Written by Christi Craig, LCSW with Counseling and Psychological Services at ECSU

Re-entry can be difficult for students and parents. Patience and negotiation can make it a smoother transition for the everyone in the family.

When college students are home for winter break it may feel different than when they were home for the weekend earlier in the semester. It may bring forth new challenges that can be eased with reasonable expectations, communication, and compromise.

It takes some parental patience as well as understanding of the significant changes that have occurred while students were away at college. Being away at college promotes independence. A contributing factor for many of the arguments between parents and college students is when this drive for independence collides with a parent’s expectation’s that their child will fall back into a more dependent role similar to pre-college life. Sometimes parents try to manage their child’s time, enforce early curfews and dictate bedtimes. It is sometimes difficult for parents to accept that their role in their child’s life has changed since they left for college, but it is important to recognize this shift in order to have a positive and healthy relationship with your young adult child.

Parents are often excited to hear everything about their child’s experience while away at school. It can be tempting to ask lots of questions as soon as they walk through the door which at times can lead your child to disengage and be less forthcoming. It can be helpful as a parent to be patient; the stories will come out with time. When they do, you want to refrain from asking too many questions, I know, it is hard BUT the more you listen, the more you will hear. Sometimes we as parents jump to offering advice or jump into problem solving mode. You want to be cautious with this, check in with your child, ask them how you can be helpful, ask them if they would like advice or would like help with problem solving around the stressor. Often times they just want you to be there as a support, to hear them out, not to try and fix their problem.

This is an exciting and transitional time for you and your child. Entering the waters of having a relationship with your child in adulthood will look different than it did when they were a child. Enjoy the time together in this new phase of life!

** Information Adapted from US News article by Susan Bartell 12/6/2017**

Housing and Residential Life

Written by Blaine Fisher, Associate Director

WINTER BREAK CLOSING:

All residence halls CLOSE on Friday, December 13^th at 6:00pm. All residential students are expected to leave campus to enjoy their winter break within 24 hours of their last final exam, or by December 13^th at 6:00pm – whichever occurs first. If on the rare occasion a student has a final exam scheduled for after 6:00pm on December 13^th, our team would be more than happy to work with them on ensuring they have access to their on-campus housing and make reasonable arrangements for their winter break move out. The Final Exam Schedule can be found here: https://www.easternct.edu/registrar/final-examinations.html

Before Leaving for Break: Students are not expected to completely move out of their housing assignment unless they are requesting a Spring 2025 room change, graduating, or transferring. Students may leave some belongings in their housing assignment, but it’s best to bring home any valuables. Student will also receive instructions on what they need to do before leaving for break and how to properly check out with a Housing Staff Member. This information will be emailed, posted to housing assignment doors, posted in halls, and floor/building meetings will be scheduled to ensure all are informed.

Winter Break Housing: Students who need to stay on campus between December 13^th and January 19^th are required to complete a Winter Break Housing Application which will go live in the MyHousing Portal starting on November 1^st. Winter break housing will cost $364/week. Additional information on Winter Break Housing will be coming in November 2024.

Residents have received email notifications, flyers, and posters in their halls with their closing expectations and deadlines. They have been encouraged since mid-October to create and finalize their travel plans and to create back-up plans in the event of inclement weather. We always encourage students to plan departures and arrivals to and from campus early with their family and/or support folx.

We wish all students the best of luck with the rest of the semester and with their exams, and we wish safe travels and a warm holiday season!

MOVE IN: SPRING 2025

Currently, move in day for the spring 2025 semester is January 19^th after 10:00am. Details regarding move in will be emailed to all residents in early January 2025.

Early Arrival Housing: Students who need to move in on January 17^th or 18^th for early arrival also complete the Winter Break Housing Application and select the “early arrival’ option when selecting the dates for their stay.

SPRING 2025 ROOM CHANGE REQUESTS:

The Spring 2025 Room Change Request Form is now open. If a student submits a Spring 2025 Room Change Request Form before December 13^th, they will be expected to completely move out of your Fall 2024 housing assignment before leaving for winter break. If they do not completely move out before leaving for winter break, the request will be canceled. If a Spring 2025 room change can be offered over the winter break, the student will be contacted, and they will be able to move into their new room when we return to campus in January. If we cannot offer a room change, the student will be reassigned back into their Fall 2024 housing assignment.

Housing Contract Cancellation Requests:

A reminder that students who apply for housing agree to live on campus for the entire academic year (fall and spring semesters) and that the contract cannot be broken midyear unless any of the following apply:

· The student has a December 2024 graduation date

· The student withdraws from the University

· The student is approved for a medical leave of absence, or leave of absence

· The student drops to part-time status (registered for less than 12 credits for the spring semester; a registration hold will be placed on the student’s account after housing is canceled so that the students cannot register for any more credits after their housing is canceled)

· The student is registered for study abroad

· The student is registered for an internship or student teaching experience where the address of the experience is closer to their home address than it is to Eastern.

Any other reason, including financial or medical reasons, can only be considered if a student completes the Housing Contract Cancellation Request Form. Their request will be reviewed and decided up on by the Housing Contract Cancellation Committee. It is NOT a guarantee that a request will be approved and if denied, the student will remain assigned to housing and the charges for their housing will remain on their student account.

Requests to cancel a Spring 2025 housing assignment submitted before December 1st will be responded to before December 9^th.

HOUSING SELECTION FOR 2025-2026

Housing Selection is the process students participate in to choose their housing assignment for next year. For all information, eligibility requirements and deadlines, please visit the 2025-2026 Housing Selection Process website.

Students can submit their 2025-2026 Housing Application in the MyHousing Portal and their non-refundable $250 Housing Deposit in eWeb now. Both are due no later than March 31^st to remain eligible for the selection process. Late submission of either the application or the deposit will result in the student participating in a secondary room selection process over the summer break. Rooms and beds will not be reserved for late submissions, and there is no guarantee that roommate preferences can be honored for those late to the process.

Campus Activities

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Parent and Family Ne﻿wsletter

Adjusting to Having a College Student Home for Winter Break

Housing and Residential Life

Campus Acti﻿vities

Parent and Family Newsletter

Campus Activities