There is almost nothing more thrilling to a college student than the feeling she gets after finishing her last final of the semester. After weeks of late nights, stress, studying, and rewriting notes, the feeling of finally being free and able to relax is unparalleled. For some students, however, the end-of-the-year euphoria is short-lived. In order to lighten their load during the year and to ensure they graduate on time, students often choose to take summer classes at Stern.
The administration at Stern wishes to enable students to get the most out of their education. Because a variety of interesting classes that fulfill various requirements are offered, the summer is an opportunity for students to take classes that they may not have time for or that they may not have been able to get into during the year. For example, Public Speaking, required for every single undergraduate student, and Fundamentals of Science, required for every non-science major student, are two of the most difficult classes to get into during the school year. These two courses, along with various others, are offered during the summer so that students do not have to worry about fitting these courses into their regular class schedule.
The dorm designated for those living on-campus during the summer this year was the 35th street building. Previously, the 29th street building has been used. Amanda Abady, a senior who took classes and lived on campus this summer, felt that living in 35th during the summer was preferable. When asked why 35th was better than 29th, Abady said, “Because there’s no meal plan during the summer, it’s a lot better to have my own kitchen so that I have the option to cook my own food.”
Although there is no meal plan and cafeteria cards are deactivated during the summer, laundry cards continue to work and can be refilled. Additionally, even without a meal plan and with fewer people around, Shabbos is still a warm, friendly, and inviting experience. There is a Shabbos R.A. room where everyone can relax together, although if one prefers to go away for Shabbos or just stay in her room, she is welcome to do so. Although Abady had never been to the R.A. room, she nevertheless appreciated its presence. She explained, “It’s really nice to have the option for everyone to be together.” She elaborated that it gave people a sense of community, bonding, and friendship, despite the fact that there were fewer people to talk to and visit.
During the summer, students are allowed to take classes on both the Beren and Wilf campuses. This summer, shuttles were available and ran every day that class was held. An e-mail was sent out the week before the first summer session started saying that shuttle services were available and that students should contact Dr. Gillian Steinberg, who is in charge of the summer shuttle services, if they needed a spot on the shuttle. The shuttles came to Stern from Washington Heights to drop students off for class in the morning and arrived at 12pm, 2pm, and 5pm to pick students up. For many, this took the stress out of travelling between campuses to get to class on time. One student who took summer classes at Stern during Summer 2012 was glad to hear that transportation was provided this summer. “It’s good that there was inter-campus transportation this summer!” she remarked. “When I took classes [during a previous summer], I had to leave my class at Stern at exactly 12pm and run to catch the subway to make sure I was on time for class [on the uptown campus] every day. It added a lot of additional and unwanted stress. I’m glad students didn’t have to go through that this year.”
Stern also has committed security guards who work tirelessly through the summer to ensure the safety of the student body. When asked if the summer security shift was easier because there were fewer people’s IDs to check and the buildings were much quieter, Sylvia Rodrigues, a security guard in the 245 building, said that she and the other security guards felt the need to be more alert because it was quieter and emptier. During the summer, there are no guests allowed in the dorm overnight and everyone gets a specific summer sticker to put on their IDs so that security knows who should be allowed in the building. Safety is a top priority at Stern, even—and especially—during the summer.
Though school may not be anyone’s first choice of fun summer plans, it is a great way to catch up on credits or even graduate early. If one wants to (or must) go to summer school, Stern’s summer school program is appealing. Stern helps its students get the most out of summer school, both academically and socially, while also providing a safe and friendly environment.