Eligibility
Only students in the following categories are eligible to remain on campus:

1. Senior students completing a year-long thesis 
2. International students
3. Varsity winter athletes, required to be on campus by their coaches
4. Students with significant extenuating personal or family circumstances*

The application for Winter Break 25-26 will be available from November 17th, 2025 through December 4th, 2025.

*For students with unique situations looking to request winter break housing, please fill out our application and include as much info as you are comfortable. Our office will follow-up with students for more information as needed.

Varsity Athletes

Varsity athletes will have their access dates determined by Athletics, as such they do not need to fill out this form. Residence Life will not coordinate access on days other than those permitted by Athletics, unless the student falls into a different category above. If individual athletes have questions, they should contact their coach.

Reducing our Carbon Footprint

In coordination with Bates Sustainability, we will continue to decrease the number of residences fully open for Winter Break. During break there will be a few buildings open at full temperature, some at low temperature (~61F/16C), and some will be fully closed. 

Building Temperature Status
We will make determinations on which buildings will remain open for break based on the forms we receive (and athletic rosters). We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work through the arrangements for the break and seek to close as many under-occupied buildings as possible. If your regular residence is closed, our office will work with you to have a different assignment over break. 

What we gain
By setting back the building temperatures in low occupancy spaces we save the following during the winter break:

–5,300  gallons of  Oil
–10,000  ccf of Natural Gas
–10,000 gallons of Renewable Fuel Oil
–100,000 kWh of electricity

This has a direct result of us not emitting 238 tonnes of greenhouse gases, and is the equivalent of keeping 60 cars off the road annually. It is a large portion of our carbon footprint – roughly 17% this year, meaning, we would be 17% higher if we had no ability to cool the buildings during breaks.

Residence Access
Students will have access to their break residence (regular semester room or temporary space) 24/7. Students do not generally have open access to other residences during the break as they do during the semester. If the building they are residing in over break does not have a kitchen, students will be given access to a building that does.

Cost
Students that are approved to be on campus have no “rent” charge. See below for meal information.

Commons
The board meal plan ends with dinner on Monday, December 15, 2025 and begins again for Winter 2026 with dinner on Tuesday, January 13th, 2025. Students choosing to eat in Commons over this period will be charged per meal when open. Commons will be closed completely Wednesday, December 18, 2024 – Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Please check the Dining Services website for specifics. 

Academic Break Meal Plan
Students who receive financial aid and have calculated family contributions of $15,000 or less are eligible for the Academic Break Meal Plan, which extends the student meal plan to include meals during academic breaks. Please check the Academic Break Meal Plan website for specifics. 

Cooking Meals
Students are able to cook their own meals in certain buildings over the break. If the building they are residing in over break does not have a kitchen, students will be given access to a building that does. 

We support students throughout the academic year, including on breaks! A variety of offices and individual students collaborate each break period to provide events and programming for students who are staying on campus during break to get out of their rooms, engage with friends and meet new people!

Breaks at Bates
Breaks at Bates funding is available to students wishing to host an event or program open to all Bates students during official college breaks. Please review the Breaks at Bates website or connect to Campus Life with questions!

Bates Health Center
The partnership between CMMC and BHS is an essential connection to high-quality medical care. Staff in these areas will be relied upon to support the medical needs of our campus community during school breaks.

Health Services is closed during school breaks, such as the Thanksgiving Recess, Winter Recess between Fall and Winter semesters, the February Recess, and the Summer Recess.

To access medical care during breaks, students will be referred to the Central Maine Family Medical Residency at 76 High Street. Appointments can be made by calling 207-795-2800. Dr. Picard is listed as the Primary Care Provider for many Bates students. Many of the physicians at BHS, Jess Segar (RN), Kelly Ducas (MA), Allison Ceprano (PSR), and Bisharo Ali (PSR) will be at the Residency Clinic for continuity of care. Your insurance will be billed for medical care visits.

Outside of business hours, students can access medical care at the CMMC Emergency Department or Urgent Care.

Campus Safety and Residence Life Coordinators
Campus Safety is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Please call campus safety for emergencies and other concerns. There are no Residence Life Coordinators on-call during the majority of winter break. As always, there is a dean on-call for emergencies.

Other Campus Services
Residence Life does not oversee the opening and closing hours of other services on campus. It is best to check the individual resource’s website to have the most accurate information: 

• Gym/Fitness Facilities
• Bobcat Express
• Ladd Library
• Commons Hours

All students should complete the following tasks before they leave campus.

Take out the trash and recycling
Take your trash and unusable items to the trash area. Anything in a trash bag or in the hallway is considered trash and will be disposed of. If you have large broken items please throw them out to avoid charges. If you don’t know if something can be recycled, check the Bates Sustainability page.

Close your windows
Make sure your windows are closed and latched and shades pulled down. Leaving a window even slightly cracked can lead to a pipe bursting in your room damaging all of your and your neighbors’ belongings.

Leave nothing in the hallways or common rooms
Store your items in your room or in the designated on-campus storage areas. 

Lock your room
Easily prevent theft of your belongings by locking your door.

Bring all the items you will need for the break
Your access will not be turned on again until Sunday, January 11th, 2025. Many campus buildings will have the heat turned down and will be inaccessible to students. 

Students that are not returning for the winter semester should complete the following additional tasks before they leave campus:

Clean
Ask your custodian for trash bags, brooms, or vacuums to make sure your room has been left in “broom clean condition” meaning:

• free of all debris
• free of personal effects
• swept clean after their belongings have been removed

Return your key
You should return your key to Campus Security before you leave to avoid late or rekeying fees. You should not leave your key in your room or give it to a friend to return. Check the Access Control website for information on the fees associated with not returning your key on time.

Return your library items
Make sure you return your library books and media to stay free of fees. You can see the Fines & Replacement costs on the Library website.

Remove all items from on-campus storage
If you are not returning for the winter semester, you should remove any items from on-campus storage spaces. In May, any student belongings that are left in storage areas shall be removed and donated to the clean sweep charitable sale.

Before you head home for the break, Campus Safety would like to offer the following tips in securing your off-campus house:  

Lock up or take your valuables
Try to take your valuables with you when you leave for break.  If you can’t take them with you, try to secure them in a space that you can secure.

Consider Telling your Neighbors
Giving your neighbors the heads up that you are off on vacation is a useful way of making sure that someone is keeping an eye on your home for you, even if they are doing it subconsciously.

If they know you are away and see something or someone unusual, it will trigger them to be a little more watchful as they know that you are not there. You should also leave a contact number with them if they do not have one already so that they can be in touch if they have any suspicions or concerns that you should be aware of.

Consider Your Curtains
Strange as this may sound, your curtains, blinds, and shutters tell a story of their own to anyone who is watching your home with a view to gaining entry.

If you usually leave your shutters half-open, or blinds rolled up, suddenly shutting them all with giving your house a locked-down look, which will scream “vacant” to anyone who is interested. As much as possible, keep your curtains, blinds, and shutters in a similar position to how they usually would be.

Don’t Stash Your Key
It can be tempting to leave a key hidden outside your property just in case someone needs to pop in for you.  Don’t do this – especially don’t do this when you are going away for an extended period of time.

Turn Off Electrical Appliances
To help reduce the risk of electrical fires while your home is vacant, switch off and unplug any unnecessary electrical items, including TVs, radios, coffee makers, fans, and lamps. You should also close internal doors where possible to help slow the spread of smoke and fire should the worst happen.

Check doors and Windows
It might seem obvious, but make sure the last person to leave the house has checked all the windows and exterior doors to see that they have been locked.

Keep Lights On
If it is possible, purchase a timer that can be attached to the interior and exterior lights so they can be turned off and on during different times.

Returning students who were not on-campus during the Fall semester will need to check in at the Access Control Office in the Campus Safety Building, 245 College St.

Key Pick Up Hours:

Sunday, January 11th, 2025: 10a – 5p

Monday, January 12th, 2025: 8:30a – 4:30p

Tuesday, January 13th, 2025: 8:30a – 4:30p

If you arrive outside of these hours you will need to contact Campus Safety to let you into your space and pick up your key the following day.

PIN Access: If you are moving into Chu Hall, Kalperis Hall, 96 Campus Ave, or 10 Frye St., you will not need a key. Instead, your room door will be unlocked using your ID, in tandem with a 4-digit PIN. To set-up your PIN, please follow these instructions:

• Visit Garnet Gateway and log in.
• On the Main Page, navigate to “Account & Access”, then “Security”, then click on “Bates ID Card”.
• Follow the onscreen prompts to change your PIN for your Bates ID Card.
• At your room door, tap your ID at the door, type in your 4-digit PIN, then press pound.

Some students, including Winter Athletes and International students, who are arriving outside of the 11th-13th, should be in contact with their coaches and program heads respectively, for more information about arrival processes, dates, and/or sports schedule.

If you feel you have an exceptional circumstance to arrive on campus early, you may email our office at housing@bates.edu with details about your request.