In a room selection webinar, Kansas State Housing and Dining Services said the Strong Community will be closed for the 2020-2021 academic year.
The closure comes given the circumstance K-State and Housing and Dining are in, Brooks Hetle, area coordinator for student recruitment and academic support, said.
“That will include the halls of Boyd, Putnam and Van Zile and will also include the Van Zile dining center,” Hetle said. “So if you’re looking for those in the resident portal … unfortunately you will not see those as they are not currently available.”
Housing and Dining said via Facebook that the community will be closed due to the current occupancy demand.
“However, if at any point throughout the summer or early this fall if we get to a point occupancy-wise, where we will need that space and need to reopen, we will make those spaces available for students to choose,” Helte said. “But as of right now they will be closed for the next academic year, and they will not be available in the resident portal to choose as a part of the room selection process.”
Construction on Derby Dining Center is still proceeding through COVID-19-related campus closures, and Hetle said they hope to have it completely finished sometime in the fall semester.
Hetle said that the tentative plan for move-in is to be able to resume operations as normal. That would mean move-in would begin at any point after 10 a.m. on Aug. 22.
Hetle said they are working with Lafene Health Center and the Riley County Health Department to develop contingency plans as they look at the fall semester.
“For us at Housing and Dining Services — and I know a lot of our campus partners and the university administration would agree —our top priority is the health, safety, well-being and the success of our residents and our students,” Hetle said. “We don’t want to do anything that’s going to jeopardize that, but as of right now we don’t have the full answers … as soon as we make decisions and know what that is going to be, we will certainly update you.”
