Students pack up to move out

As students head home for summer break, offices around campus will send students home with reminders and ideas to maintain their computers, mailing addresses, residences and dining plans over the summer.

The JMU computing staff is asking that students keep up with proper maintenance of their computers and Webmail accounts, said Drew Davis, director of computing support. The computing staff recommends downloading virus protection software from a link available on the computing Web site, www.jmu.edu/computing to protect the security of JMU's network in the fall and the student's computer.

Students also should check their Webmail accounts periodically to avoid exceeding quotas. Further information on necessary summer technology preparation is available at www.jmu.edu/computing/thingstodo.shtml.

Mailing Services also is prompting students with on-campus mailboxes to update forwarding information before summer break, according to Joyce Myers, a Mailing Services employee. Addresses for summer and next fall can be updated on e-campus, according to Myers.

Students staying at JMU for the summer may continue to use their postal boxes. “There are forms if you are here for summer classes, but remember to check [your mail] at least once a week,” Myers said.

If mail forwarding is not done in a timely fashion, all mail received in student's postal boxes will be returned to the sender, Myers added.

Judy Kelley, a JMU Card Services employee, said it is important to select a meal plan before summer break.

According to Kelley, Card Services offers a variety of meal plans, including a new package for commuter students with plans ranging from 3 to 17 punches per week.

A plan can be chosen via e-mail or telephone over the summer, or at the Card Services window in Warren Hall.

“If [students] take care of [getting a meal plan] now, there will be no lines [in the fall],” Kelley said.

Kelley added that meal plan prices, recently updated by the Board of Visitors, will change slightly before the fall semester.

Students can expect to receive updates on meal plans and prices in the mail at their permanent or summer addresses.

Some students even may opt to come back to Harrisonburg in the middle of the summer to prepare their apartments and townhouses, if allowed by their landlords.