Spring Break: Important Information for Your Student

Whether they’re staying on campus, going to the beach or heading somewhere more—or less—exotic, your student is probably getting excited about spring break, which is a little more than a week from today. Last year, more than 700 students registered to stay on campus over spring break, so your student will not be alone if that’s their plan.

For students living in Longwood-managed housing, spring break is officially from 6 p.m. Friday, March 1, through noon Sunday, March 10, which means that the residence halls and apartments will not be accessible during that time unless your student has filled out the required form in advance. Classes resume March 11.

If your student is planning to stay on campus for the entire break—or if they have academic or personal obligations after 6 p.m. Friday, March 1—please encourage them to go ahead and “register to stay” on campus, which will give them uninterrupted access to their assigned community.

To register, your student should log in to the Student Housing Gateway and complete the designated form. It’s simple and only takes a few minutes. The deadline to submit the online form is 11:59 p.m. next Thursday, Feb. 28, but there’s no need to wait until then.

Just to be clear: Any student living in any Longwood-managed housing—whether a residence hall or apartment—will not be able to access their building/room/apartment from 6 p.m. Friday, March 1, through noon Sunday, March 10, if they have not filled out the “register to stay” online form by the deadline.

If your student has an emergency, there are some measures in place to provide access to residences over spring break—but they’re much more of a hassle than filling out the “register to stay” form:
—The Lancer Card Center can provide access assistance during business hours from March 6-8. (University offices are closed March 4-5.)
—In extreme cases, LUPD officers can provide limited after-hours access assistance.

For a list of things your student should do before leaving campus housing for the break, go to www.longwood.edu/housing/.

Here’s some additional important information about spring break:
—University offices will be closed March 4-5.
—Farmville Area Bus (FAB) service will end at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 1, and resume at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. There is no bus service between campus and Lancer Park or Longwood Village during the break.
—Residence hall rooms and apartments are subject to entry during break. Entry may be necessary during the break period to facilitate preventive maintenance tasks (changing filters, for example), general work orders or safety inspections. Special work projects will be directly communicated to impacted residents/buildings.
—Dorrill Dining Hall will close at 2 p.m. Friday, March 1, and will re-open at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 10.  Regular hours of operation resume on Monday, March 11. Visit https://longwood.campusdish.com/ for operation hours for all other campus food venues.

All of us at Longwood wish your student a safe, fun and/or productive spring break!

—Sabrina Brown