Summer Storage

Maintenance of dormitory room and campus areas

Summer Storage

At all times, storage is limited to the spaces each college designates for that purpose. No student may store possessions in the mechanical rooms of any college basement. The University reserves the right to dispose of improperly stored items without notice and without compensation. Absolutely no storage is allowed in stairwells per the Connecticut state fire code.

Storage over the summer in the residential colleges is not a right but a privilege. The system is costly in terms of the time it requires of the masters’ offices and the custodial staffs, and creates difficulties for the Summer Session and for those trying to clean and refresh the facilities. Summer storage is not permitted on the Old Campus or in University annex space. Nevertheless, the masters generally try their best to make the most space possible available, but storage, even in the most spacious of colleges, is severely limited, and students should remember this in making their plans.

Storage in the summer may be divided into two categories: boxed storage of personal effects and furniture or other room furnishings. In order to avoid thefts during the summer recess, to prepare rooms for summer occupancy, and to facilitate important maintenance work, students must remove all their personal effects from the rooms of the residential colleges at the end of the academic year and must either place their belongings in storage facilities provided by the college or remove them from the premises. Students residing in the colleges may leave one couch per suite, and each student may leave one chair. Refrigerators may not be stored in student rooms or college storage spaces. Students must identify each item left in the room or suite with a tag obtained from the college master’s office, and must securely attach and label each tag with the owner’s name as well as fall and spring room numbers. Untagged or illegally tagged or excessive furniture, rugs, pictures, and other possessions left in rooms will be removed at the discretion of the college Facilities Superintendent, and the student will be charged for the expense of the removal.

Students residing in rooms on the Old Campus, in the New Residence Hall ("Swing Space"), or in annex apartments must remove all personal effects and personal furniture when they vacate housing at the end of the spring term. Each college will designate one or more areas for boxed storage of personal effects only. Each student assigned to the college (regardless of on-campus/off-campus status) will be allowed to store up to a total of six boxes. The master of each college may designate a smaller number of boxes, depending on available storage space. Only boxed items will be stored; no loose items or outsized items will be stored. Each box must be labeled on the sides in bold black lettering with the student’s name and fall-term room number.

Yale takes no responsibility for the safety of items left on University property. Students are encouraged to provide their own storage for furniture and possessions and to provide insurance against loss or damage. In any college designated for occupancy during the summer, or for renovation or alteration, alternate storage arrangements may have to be made.

Note:  It was recently agreed to that each student may also leave 1 free-standing bookshelf (no cinderblock constructions, no plastic cubes or other substitutions) and one standing lamp per student.

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Maintenance of dormitory room and campus areas
1. Damage to Rooms and Other University Property. Students responsible for damage to their rooms or to other University property will be charged for the cost of repairs. Students finding, upon taking possession of a room, any damage to the room or to University furniture are advised to report the damage in writing to the custodial supervisor within five days, so that they may be released from financial responsibility for repairs.

The University provides devices for hanging pictures and other approved items on walls. The use of any other devices is prohibited. If walls are damaged, students may be charged for repairs. When checking out of the suite students should leave all hanging devices in place. No wires or other items such as antennae may be hung or placed on the outside of the University buildings.

All fires, no matter how small, should be reported to University Fire Marshal’s office at 432-9923 and to the master’s office. This includes fire extinguished without the assistance of the fire department or the University Police.

If, during a party, deliberate and unnecessary activation or discharge of fire alarms, sprinkler systems, or fire extinguishers or tampering with fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, or door closures is discovered, the party will be stopped immediately. In addition, the person or persons hosting the party will be held responsible for all fines and related cleanup costs.

Even when absent from their room, students are held responsible for disorder or damage occurring there and may be billed for the cost of repairs occasioned by such damage.

2. Alterations. No alterations to rooms and appurtenances may be made unless permission has been secured in advance from the residential college master, the Department of Physical Plant at 2 Whitney Avenue, the University Fire Marshal at 314 Prospect Street, and the custodial supervisor of the residential college. No lofts (that is, raised beds attached to any wall, floor, or ceiling) or partitions (that is, a wall or curtain), fixed or removable, may be constructed on the Old Campus or in any residential college. Because of the ever present danger of fire, the materials that are permitted to be used in alterations are restricted; permission forms and a list of approved materials are available in the master’s office and at the University Fire Marshal’s Office. Permission cannot be granted to remove furniture or equipment that is attached to the building. In the case of alterations done without permission, the University reserves the right to require restoration of the previous condition at the expense of the occupant.

3. Painting. The painting or defacing of walls or woodwork in the bedrooms or common rooms of the student suites in renovated colleges, in fully repainted colleges, and on the Old Campus is prohibited. In addition, items only may be attached to the walls in renovated colleges, in fully repainted colleges, and on the Old Campus with the materials provided by the Facilities Department; attaching items to walls by other means is prohibited. Fines for non-compliance will be assessed on students’ accounts with Student Financial Services. In other colleges not yet renovated or fully repainted, students may paint their rooms upon receiving permission to do so from their master’s office. Before permission is granted, the master’s office will arrange for an inspection of the room by the custodial supervisor. Paint will be provided by the Physical Plant stockroom at 120 East Street and may be secured there upon presentation of a valid student identification card and a stock request form that had been approved by the master of the college or by his or her designee. Only official University color paint is allowed for the painting of student rooms. Painting must be restricted to walls and ceilings and may not, under any conditions, include woodwork, window frames, doors, or fire sprinkler heads. After a room has been painted, the custodial supervisor will again inspect it, and if any damage to the rooms has resulted from its being painted, the students occupying the room will be charged the cost of the repairs. If a student paints a room in a color different from the official University color for student rooms, or paints a room without obtaining proper approval to do so, the room will be repainted at the end of the year by the University at the expense of the occupant or occupants of the room. In 2001-2002, the cost of repainting a single wall or a ceiling was a minimum of $100.00. Painting of entryways, hallways, entry doors to student rooms and suites, bathrooms, or any other part of University residence building is prohibited.

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