2023-2024 Fall Break Information

The following information will help you prepare for Fall break. More information will be added as it becomes available. If you have questions that are not addressed here, please contact our office.

General information

Fall break begins Thursday, November 16, and lasts until Sunday, November 26th. The residence halls are open and students are permitted to remain on campus during this time. As always, please lock your room door when you are away from your room (even if you just run down to the bathroom), carry your keys at all times, and do not prop exterior doors for any reason.

RAs are scheduled to be on duty over the break; however, there will be reduced staffing in the RA offices. If you need to check anything out from the RA office (cooking equipment, games, videos, etc.) or you need access to storage, please do so by Friday, November 17 at the latest. Campus Safety is not permitted to check out hall equipment or give students access to storage.

Checklist for students leaving for the break

If you are leaving for break, we encourage you to:

Turn off and unplug appliances (refrigerators and aquariums may remain plugged in)
Remove all trash from your room and take it to a common area trash can in your building
Close and lock all windows (pipes could freeze and burst if windows are left open)
Close blinds
Turn off alarm clock
Turn off lights
Lock your door
Leave thermostats on

Repair work

During break periods (including official College holidays), Facility Services staff may be doing necessary maintenance, deep cleaning and/or renovations to common areas. At times, this work may require altering normal traffic flow (like periodically closing certain entrances or stairwells). At other times, this work may require entering student rooms. Every effort will be made to notify students in advance (through e-mails or through signs posted in the buildings). However, advanced notice may not be possible in every situation. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns.

Meal plans for the Spring semester

As a reminder, students can opt to change their meal plan for the Spring semester. Refer to dining services web pages on selecting or changing a meal plan for details.

Getting to and from the airport

If you will be traveling and don't have a car, you can refer to a list of transportation suggestions compiled by the Thomas Commons Information Desk. There you will find the College's electronic need a ride board as well as information on commercial transportation opportunities.

Other offices and building hours

All Cornell College administrative offices will be closed beginning at 4:30pm, Friday, November 17 until 8:00am, Monday, November 27.

Campus Safety

Campus Safety officers will be on campus at all times over break. The officers will be making regular rounds through the residence halls. As always, students are advised to report any suspicious individuals or activities to Campus Safety. If you need assistance, contact Campus Safety (319) 895-4299 (or x4299 from an on-campus telephone). For an emergency, call 911 (or 9-911 from an on-campus telephone).

There are five parking spaces in Lot O (directly in front of Olin Hall along MacGregor Lane) where parking is prohibited between December 1 and April 1 annually. Those spaces have signs indicating the parking restrictions. Refer to the Campus Safety website for a complete list of parking policies.

Dining Services

See special dining hours here: Dining Services Hours of Operation.

Meal plans do not cover meals from Saturday, November 18 through Friday, November 24. However, Zamora's Market will be open limited hours during the break and will accept credit cards, debit cards, and flex dollars. Students can add additional flex dollars to their card by registering for web account access. Students who are required to be on campus between November 19 - November 25 (such as in-season student-athletes and select RAs) will have meals covered by their sponsoring departments as determined by their coaches.

Other students who need special assistance regarding meals should be in touch with Residence Life (email).

Meals will not be provided on Thursday, November 23, 2023 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Students are encouraged to purchase meals t0-go the Wednesday evening before.

SAW

The SAW will operate on a holiday schedule starting Thursday November 16^th and transition back to regular operating hours on Monday November 27^th. Open hours are as follows:

Nov 16: 6am-10pm
Nov 17: 6am-10pm
Nov 18: 6am-10pm
Nov 19: 10am-2pm
Nov 20: 9am-5pm
Nov 21: 9am-5pm
Nov 22: CLOSED
Nov 23: CLOSED
Nov 24: CLOSED
Nov 25: 10am-2pm
- On Saturday November 25^th the SAW will remain open to accommodate our home basketball game versus Simpson however the Fitness Center will only be available for use from 10am-2pm that day.
Nov 26: 12pm-10pm

Thomas Commons

Special hours will be in effect. Starting 11/18 the building will be open from 8am-8pm. Regular hours will resume on 11/25, 6am-12am.

Registrar's Office

Transcript orders are automatically processed through the National Student Clearinghouse and will continue to be processed while the College is closed, except for orders received on November 23 and 24.
At 4:00pm on Friday, November 17, students will no longer be able to add and drop classes for Block 4. Please make any necessary course changes before the end of Block 3.
Students should be aware that the registrar@cornellcollege.edu email will not be monitored while the college is closed. If students have questions regarding changing courses, please email and we will respond when we return on the 27th.

Student Accounts Office

Although the office will be closed and email/voicemail will not be monitored, student account information will be available online. As always, students can access their account information and make payments through Self-Service. If granted access by their student, parents may access CashNet to make a payment or check a balance. Also if authorized by their student, parents may access account details through the Student Information Sharing - Parent Login.

Student Success Center

Block 4 disability accommodations letters will be sent out on Wednesday, November 15. Students who change their Block 4 course after that date should email disabilityservices@cornellcollege.edu and their accommodation letter will be sent to their new professor on Monday, November 27.

Cole Library

Cole Library will close for fall break on Friday, November 17th, and will re-open on Sunday, November 26th.

Before we close on the 17th, here are places to visit to make fall break more exciting:

Games Collection. The library has a great collection of classic and new games on the 4th, all available to be checked out.
Young Adult Fiction. We pay close attention to publishing in this area and purchase new titles continuously.
Graphic Novels. Good old Melvil Dewey…he even gave us a great place to house graphic novels! You’ll find Cole Library’s collection of graphic novels in 741.5 on both the library’s 2nd floor and in our 1st floor browsing room.
DVDs. Cole Library has a really fine collection of DVDs and BluRays on our 1st floor. Because we are Mt. Vernon’s tax supported public library, we collect almost every type of film…popular films, award winning films, films from independent festivals.

Even when the library is closed, a huge number of its resources are still available to you! If you’re on campus, you won’t need to log on to any of these resources; if you’re off campus, go here to set up a password to access them.

Kanopy. An astounding collection of incredible video. Although all of Kanopy’s films are accessible via the library catalog, for purely recreational viewing, this librarian suggests you head right to Kanopy’s interface. You’ll find incredible films you never knew existed.
Films on Demand. Another great collection of streaming video.
Hoopla. Brought to you by the public library, Hoopla has a huge collection of e-books, e-audio, e-graphic novels (is that even a word?), e-zines, and streaming video. Our contractual agreement with Hoopla limits individual users to 5 “check outs” per month…if you hit that limit, team up with a friend and double your access.
Bridges/Libby. A really great collection of e-books and e-audio. This is a shared collection with other small libraries in Iowa, so you might experience a wait list.

If you have any questions or issues with access, your College Librarian is here to help. Contact Greg Cotton at gcotton@cornellcollege.edu. If he’s not making pies or basting the Thanksgiving turkey, he'll probably respond within 15 seconds.

Ebersole Health and Wellbeing Center

As we come to the end of Block 3 we will have fall break from November 16 - November 24th, with Block 4 beginning on November 27th.

Ebersole Health and Wellbeing Center will be closed Monday, November 20 - Friday, November 24. If you are staying on campus, we want to remind you of the after hours resources that are available. If you are traveling off campus over break, please have a safe and enjoyable time. We are looking forward to working with all of you in Block 4.

List of local walk-in clinics, hospitals, mental health crisis phone numbers and locations