By Michelle Gifford
James cringed as he heard the first raindrop fall on the midnight blue tent he was using for shelter. As the rain began to fall and his tent got more soaked, he began to wish he had reconsidered going to spring term at BYU. He had failed to realize that going to spring term would cause him to be without a bed, without a heater and without a roof over his head.
James Cook, from Malaga, Wash., was not expecting to spend his weekend in a rain-soaked tent, but because of the time gap between the checkout and check-in dates for his apartment, Cook found himself homeless.
Cook was not alone last weekend. Many BYU students found themselves without a place to stay over the weekend between Winter and Spring Semesters.
Some students took the opportunity to leave town and experience new things because they had no place to stay in Provo.
Paul Dirkmaat, a senior, from Pine Hurst, N.C., spent the weekend branding cows at his friend?s farm in Castle Dale.
Dirkmaat said he liked having a break from Provo life.
?It was a lot of work, but I had a great weekend,? Dirkmaat said. ?I took two shirts down and got blood on both of them. Now that is my mark of a successful weekend.?
Provo apartment owners are aware of the potential problems that come from the differences in checkout and check-in dates, but find these problems inevitable. Michelle Kanapp, secretary at Branbury Apartments, said she is sympathetic to the students? problems and wants to see a solution. She sees difficulty in correcting the issue because of the difference between BYU and UVSC schedules and because of the complexity in coordinating times between apartments.
Emily Ensign, who works at Brittany Apartments, said the two days are necessary. The time is used to clean the apartments for the new tenants. She said she is willing to work with students who have circumstances that do not allow them to move at the designated times.
?I don?t want anybody to be homeless,? Ensign said.
Although there are no solutions planned by apartment complexes, most students were able to move into their apartments early this week.
