Winter break is a time for celebration, rest and relaxation for most members of the Northeastern community.
But that doesn’t mean the university’s 13 global campuses are quiet.
Far from it.
There are plenty of holdovers – a term popularized in the recent Paul Giamatti movie – on Northeastern campuses.
About 1,000 students remain on the Boston campus, and facilities teams take advantage of the calm to complete major projects, including HVAC maintenance, dorm room flips and snowstorm preparations.
NUPD continues 24/7 patrols, using the downtime for training. Faculty are checking in on timely research projects. And in Oakland and London, crews work on campus improvement projects.
Meanwhile, for student athletes and support staff, winter break brings games, practices and travel — keeping teams in full swing.
“Winter break does not mean a break — it means that ‘while the mice are away,’ we can get a lot of work done without worries of disrupting the community,” says Meaghan Healey, associate vice president of facilities operations in the office of Planning, Real Estate and Facilities.
“It’s our opportunity to really capitalize on a quiet campus to do a lot of maintenance, to do a lot of projects — things that require significant shutdowns or would have a significant impact on the campus during normal operations,” she says.
Northeastern’s winter break began Monday, Dec. 16. Spring semester classes begin on Jan. 6.
Chong Kim-Wong, vice chancellor and dean of students, says about 1,000 students remain on the Boston campus over some or all of the break.
That means residence halls will be open and students will have an array of activities to participate in — say a trip to see the movie “Wicked,” skating on the Frog Pond, visiting the Snowport, or just enjoying hot chocolate and cookies.
NU Dining will keep the students fed — and students in Oakland and Boston can order ahead and pick up food for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“Our commitment to fostering their sense of belonging does not waver, as we continue to offer tailored programs and opportunities to connect and engage during these quieter times on campus,” says Andre’-Mar’Quis “Moon” Mitchell, associate director of Residential Life – Residential Education & Community Engagement.
“Throughout the break, the Engagements Team remains focused on delivering meaningful experiences for those who stay,” Mitchell says, “ensuring that students still have opportunities to form connections, build community and access resources.”
Staff supporting the students — including resident assistants — also remain on campus during the break.
“All of our on-demand services and our crisis services, as well as our support services, are available throughout the break,” says Madeleine Estabrook, senior vice chancellor for student life.
Approximately 2,000 students — students studying or participating in experiential learning around the world — will be moving to the Boston campus the first week of January.
“We have to make sure that their rooms have been emptied, that they’re cleaned, that there’s painting and patching done, that the furniture is there,” Estabrook says. “So it’s a time that Residential Life with Facilities is making sure all of those rooms have turned over.”
There’s plenty of planning to be done as well — after all, there’s orientation for new students and parents; Welcome Week activities; Winter Fest, where campus clubs recruit new members; and more.
“It’s a moment in time where I think staff can breathe for a second, and say OK, do we have all our ducks in a row for that event that’s happening on January 4th or January 6th,’” says Kim-Wong.
“We don’t just shut off our computers and say we’re not available,” she says. “We’re still checking emails, we’re making sure that students who might need something or who are in crisis are still being responded to — so they know that someone is there.”
For facilities on the Boston campus, there’s a lot to do:
“The list is pretty big,” Healey says. “And it could range from replacing a valve or two here, to replacing those heat exchangers, which is a really big project.”
Healey says just over half of the 225-member facilities team will be on the Boston campus on any given day during the break. And, yes, facilities representatives will be here on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Facilities staff will also be on the Boston campus in case of a snowstorm.
“We have a commitment to keep the campus safe and passable for our members of the community, but also members of the larger community,” Healey says. “Our campus is so embedded in the larger community and it’s not just our students who walk our pathways.”
NUPD officers will also be looking for open windows, as their patrols, building checks and responses to calls continue over the break, says Lt. Allison Piantedosi.
“We always are around — even though nobody else is,” Piantedosi says. “The call volume definitely goes down. But that doesn’t change how we patrol and where we are.”
Piantedosi says many officers take advantage of a quieter campus to complete annual training and familiarize themselves with the campus and the changes happening, and more.
And, being the new year, there are always some resolutions to make.
“It’s a nice time to pause and to take a breath and say ‘what do we have to do differently or better for the next semester,’” Piantedosi says. “It gives us a couple weeks to think about the next semester.”
Student athletes playing winter sports, however, don’t usually have a couple of weeks at home — which means neither do members of the athletic training staff.
“We don’t define it as winter break,” says Mike McKenney, director of athletic training. “Games are going to go on, practices and training are going to be scheduled, and our teams are very much in season.”
McKenney says that student athletes both leave late and return early — typically finishing up their finals, returning home for Christmas, and then rejoining their teammates either that night or the day after.
About 150 student athletes will be “in season” over the holidays along with the staff that support them.
Games bring out even more support staff.
“For a single hockey game to happen in winter recess is probably hundreds of people — ticketing, medical staff, athletic directors, team physicians, ambulance drivers — all the people who exist just to make sure these events happen is amazing,” McKenney says. “We’re all a part of a much larger team.”
Meanwhile, on the Oakland campus, construction crews will work on scheduled repairs to the main public cafeteria — the Tea Shop.
Winter break is also a busy time for NUPD in Oakland with the campus’ beloved green spaces a popular destination for neighbors.
On any given day in December dozens of local Oaklanders visit campus with their dogs and small children to enjoy the mature trees, trails and wide lawns.
Athletic facilities are also a draw for Northeastern community members and neighbors.
Even in the rain, the outdoor heated pool attracts lap swimmers.
“We still operate 24/7 with dispatchers, proprietary officers and contracted security,” says Regina Coppa, senior director of global site security with NUPD in Oakland. “Our department never closes, as there are always people and students (though fewer) on campus during break.”
When faculty, staff and students return to the London campus in 2025, they are going to find the place with a new shine thanks go senior facilities officer Daniel Gooding and his team.
A man who knows all the Gen Z lingo when it comes to offering a tour of the place — confirms: “Yep, we are in over Crimble.”
Gooding will be overseeing a “major deep clean” across four of the five locations that make up the London campus. After a day off for Christmas, work will resume on Dec. 27 and continue into January.
The job is so mammoth that Gooding says he has had to bolster his numbers during the winter break. The main campus building, Devon House and Marble Quay — home to the majority of professional staff — will be blitzed in the run-up to Christmas.
“I have called in all cleaning staff from over the campus and have even brought in the evening cleaning team to assist through the day,” he says.