Lafayette College provides a limited amount of community storage at no charge as a service to currently enrolled students. While the Office of Residence Life is pleased to assist students who elect to use residence hall storage, by its nature, residence hall community storage does not provide the same level of security, flexibility, or convenience as individual storage off-campus or at a student’s home. 

The Office of Residence Life has established specific storage policies and procedures to manage a storage service for students in as secure and consistent manner as reasonably possible.  For this reason, access to residence hall storage is granted to students only by Residence Life staff. 

Students should make an informed decision about where they are placing their items, therefore, we advise students to consider the information below when deciding whether storage within the residence halls is the best option.  Click here for contact information for off-campus storage companies. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.         While the Office of Residence Life makes every effort to protect the belongings of students who use these facilities, the community storage areas are accessible to other individuals and the security of students’ belongings cannot be guaranteed.    

2.         Students must be willing to accept a certain level of risk when storing items in college storage because Lafayette College assumes no responsibility for loss, theft, or damage of property stored in its residence halls.  It is advised that students refer to their own insurance policies to determine the whether their items are covered in community storage locations.  It is strongly suggested that students do not store items of any significant value in our facilities.   

3.         In order to keep our residence halls safe and to maximize storage availability, only certain items may be stored on campus.  The following items are prohibited: Furniture (including futons), lofts or building materials of any kind, carpets, flammable items, chemicals, food, bicycles, or any item prohibited in the housing contract.   In the event a prohibited item is placed in storage, the College will discard it.

4.         The scheduled hours for item drop-off and pick-up are limited by the availability of Residence Life staff members.  Students may not access the storage locations outside of these designated hours during the closing/opening periods each semester.  During the opening/closing periods staff are preparing for or taking exams themselves, in training, or attending to significant duties related to the residence hall closing or opening process.  Establishing specific hours insures that someone will be available for students who need to store items and enables the department to efficiently use personnel during these very busy periods.

3.         Students who are part of early arrival groups returning in August usually have restricted schedules due to the sport or training activity in which they are participating.  We strongly urge these students to look at the established pick-up hours prior to placing items in storage as there are few possible pick-up times during the early arrival period.  Early arrivals who do use college storage are reminded to refrain from storing items that will be needed immediately upon arrival (linens, toiletries, athletic equipment, etc.)

4.         Summer storage is restricted to larger, centrally located closets.  The Office of Residence Life will designate which closets are available for usage over the summer months.   Items will be accepted until a closet is full or the scheduled access hours have ceased.  The Office of Residence Life will determine if the capacity of a storage closet has been reached.  If a closet is deemed to be full, the closet will be closed and no additional items will be accepted - even if it is prior to the end of the announced storage hours.  We understand that this uncertainty may be difficult for students with later departure dates; however, we cannot predict when closets will fill up and must be sure the capacity of each closet is not exceeded for safety reasons. 

Information, procedures, and the schedule for storage access related to other housing terms (short-term summer housing, interim, winter inter-session) will be disseminated in advance of the particular session.

5.         We realize that the move-out period is hectic for students who are preparing for exams, bidding good-bye to their friends, and packing up their rooms.  However, due to the limited amount of space that exists on campus, it is imperative that students plan ahead for storing any items they do not wish to bring home.  Please bear in mind that the Office of Residence Life is not responsible for making arrangements for students who are unable to put items in the community storage areas for any reason including: the closets are full (closed), the student is seeking access outside of the scheduled hours, or the items are not approved for campus storage. 

6.        Although the residence halls are only fully occupied during the fall and spring semesters, most buildings are used during the summer months and many will be open during the interim session.  In addition, even if a building is unoccupied, maintenance occurs during these periods and the common areas must be free of personal items.  Thus, belongings left in the hallway/areas around storage will be discarded.

7.         A very few residence halls contain small, hallway closets.  These locations are for use during the school year only (for suitcases, trunks, out-of-season clothing, etc.).  Students should not place items in these closets for summer storage as they are not designated for this purpose, may be utilized/entered by other College personnel over the summer, and Residence Life staff will be scheduled for pick-up hours for the main closets only.  

8.         It is expected that students who elect to use residence hall storage will adhere to the storage policies and procedures established by the Office of Residence Life.  We have provided information about off-campus options as a courtesy for students who wish to explore other alternatives and/or whose situation does not lend itself to use of on-campus storage.