Dickinson students who remained on campus during fall pause claim Dickinson’s decision to close most of its facilities for the break significantly increased their loneliness.

Campus facilities such as the Union Station, the Quarry, the Library, and the Devil’s Den were closed for the entire weekend during the break. The Dining Hall maintained regular hours during the pause.

“It made me mad because you’re hungry and you’re still here,” explained Daniela Cruz ’21. “It made me feel left out that they didn’t open other places on campus because there are still people here that aren’t able to go back home. The only thing that was open was the caf and only for a certain [number] of hours.”

Eateries such as The Juice Box, Underground, and Biblio were closed for all of fall pause due to “extremely low use” in past years according to Errol Huffman, Director of Dining Services.

Huffman cites that there are fewer than 200 guests for each meal on campus during Fall Pause in comparison with the 2,500-3,000 guests during a regular academic day.

“Dining Services’ operating schedules are adjusted to meet the needs of the campus community while reducing waste and conserving a number of resources when guest counts are lower than usual,” says Huffman.

Social media also added to the sadness many students felt for having to remain on campus.

“It was a little sad because I was watching everyone’s snapchat stories of their families and everything and with their dogs, and I was like ‘I wish I could see my dog,’” Sam Stone ’21 stated.

Cruz echoed Stone’s statements. “Everyone left to see their families and I saw on social media people with their families and it just made me sad that I couldn’t go back and see my own.”

While many Dickinsonians headed home for the pause, others were not able to travel during the break.

Cruz, who is from Chicago, said “because of distance and because I don’t have the money to go back home,” she was forced to stay on campus.

Stone met similar challenges.

“I live in Minnesota, so it’s kind of far for me to go for a long weekend,” she said.

Even though campus facilities were closed, Dickinsonians who stayed on campus tried to make the best of their fall pause.

Stone said that despite missing her family, she and her friends, “had a lot of fun. We went and sat in the common room for like a full day and watched reruns of ‘Teen Titans’ and ate Chinese food.”