As the end of the semester nears, residents have less than two weeks to prepare to move out for winter break.

According to Kent State’s winter break housing website, students will be unable to enter their rooms during the break, so it is imperative they have a plan to make sure they have everything they will need over break. 

Kelvin Mancebo, a sophomore aeronautics major and resident assistant in Korb Hall, reiterated the importance of being prepared.

“(If residents) pack as they go throughout their week, it definitely makes life easier,” Mancebo said. “They can pack things that they probably will not use during finals week in between study breaks, and once they are ready to leave, they can make one last effort to get everything they need.”

Packing is just one thing that students can make sure to do to make moving out easier. There are plenty of other suggestions that can make resident’s lives less stressful. 

“Students should take any items they use on (a) daily basis,” Mancebo said. “They should also take any food they have because chances are, it will expire by the time they are back.” 

Mancebo listed other tips for residents, including taking back summer clothing, removing anything perishable to prevent a bug problem and going through the checklist they are given by their RA. The last tip is key in Mancebo’s eyes.

“An easy way to go about the closing process is to go through the end of the semester checklist that the RA gives (a resident) right before they leave,” Mancebo said. “If (residents) do everything that is on there, then they should be fine.”

Tyler Hevener, a sophomore business management major, agreed with Mancebo. During last year’s winter break, he said, he followed the checklist, which made it much easier to move out. 

Out of any suggestion, however, Mancebo said that simply being out of the room on time is the most important thing a student resident can do.

“Some people think (the RAs make sure that residents are gone)…by Friday at 5 p.m. to simply get them out of here, but they fail to realize that their key stops working after that time,” Mancebo said. 

According to Kent State’s housing website, students can stay on campus over break, but they have to make sure they fill out an application. For those students, it must be noted that meal plans will not be active during that time.

While some are more important than others, Mancebo made it evident that each of these rules and suggestions make everyone’s life easier.

“Following these rules and suggestions helps speed up the process because (each resident’s) respective area desk deals with less issues and makes our lives easier when we enter resident’s rooms,” Mancebo said. 

Ryan Landolph is the resident life reporter for the Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].