The time has come for DePauw to gather information about students' plans for winter term. This year, DePauw’s winter break will begin at 5:00 p.m., Dec. 18 and end on Feb. 2.
The DePauw housing department has sent an announcement about the housing plan for winter and spring term. University housing will open to students who are approved for winter term housing at 8:00 a.m. EST on January 3, 2022. Students enrolled for winter term but not enrolled in an on-campus course for the spring term must depart by 12:00 p.m. on January 26. University housing will open to students for the spring term at 8:00 a.m. EST on January 27.
From the perspective of domestic students who can go home during this approximately six week break, this is a time for them to refresh to start the spring term. “I rarely go home because I am from Georgia, but this winter break I will spend my time with them,” first-year Mia Davis said.
Similarly, junior Mikael Polanco said, “I am looking forward to the winter break. I will go back to Chicago and enjoy my break before facing a strict schedule for the spring term.”
Due to COVID-19, some of the off-campus study plans of students were canceled. Jade Karas, a first-year student, said, “My off-campus study in Mexico was postponed, so I will go home this winter break.”
However, international students at DePauw have more difficulty returning home because they live far away from their countries and because of COVID-19 restrictions. “Luckily I am fully vaccinated, so I can go back to my country this winter break,” Yena Choi, a first-year student from Korea, said. Meanwhile, sophomore Mai Le said “I cannot go back to Vietnam now because there is no flight ticket for me to buy; the government limits people from other countries due to COVID-19.”
Usually, international students have three options in case they cannot go home. If they have relatives in the U.S., they may choose to stay with them during the winter. “I will fly to Texas and stay there for six weeks with my sister,” Ngan Tran, a first-year student, said.
Others may choose to take a winter term course, which fulfills the graduation requirement of extended studies. However, some of these students run into a problem with their housing plan. Residence halls and Greek housing are closed from Dec. 18 to the beginning of winter term, so they do not have anywhere to stay.
“I cannot plan anything now, I am looking for someone to rent a house in Greencastle to wait for the housing to open for the winter term,” first-year Dat Nguyen said. The last choice is less common, but some students may choose to travel for the whole six weeks. Menghan Xie, a first year student, said she is traveling to Germany during winter term.International students should complete this winter break plan form for further assistance from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.