Most students leave campus after spring quarter ends, giving UCI a noticeably quieter atmosphere during the summer. For those who remain, sudden inactivity is immediately apparent.
During the academic year, the bridge connecting University Town Center (UTC) to campus is often crowded with scooter riders, skateboarders and bicyclists maneuvering through crowds of students. But, during the summer, the bridge is nearly empty.
Beyond the bridge, the campus is relatively quieter than UTC. While most of the buildings are locked, the Langson Library is one of the few that remain open throughout the week.
On July 2, inside the first-floor study area, only six students stayed over there. About five students sat at a long study table, looking at laptops with notebooks and drinks beside them. Another student sat alone near the window with their feet resting on an adjacent chair while the surrounding seats remained empty.
Outside the library, a student in graduation robes stood with her parents as a photographer adjusted lighting equipment before taking photos.
“Summertime it’s more empty, and things are much slower.”Alexis Gonzalez, a fourth-year nursing student who works as a librarian, told New University.
Although Subway and The Halal Shack remain open, the Student Center food courts have reduced activity during the summer quarter, with few customers waiting for food and rows of tables remaining empty.
Many student employees chose to continue working at UCI over the summer because these jobs can be easier to balance with summer courses.
“It’s very, very slow usually in the summer,” Nao Danielle Oya, a rising fourth-year psychology student who works at the Halal Shack, told New University.
For Oya, her job provides balance for her daily routine while she’s enrolled in an online mythology course with 12 lectures each week. She prefers working since it gives her a break from schoolwork.
Despite this lull, UCI’s centers continue to function, with staff members providing services and preparing for the upcoming academic year.
Safaa Al Moubasher, a recent biological sciences graduate who works at the Student Center Information Center front desk, now spends her time primarily assisting prospective students rather than current ones. She answers questions for visitors, provides maps for self-guided tours and recommends campus locations based on their interests.
“During the school year, it gets a lot more busy. Over the summer, it’s only just when people are touring, so it’s less busy,” Al Moubasher told New University.
The UCI Bookstore also sees how the situation changes in summer, particularly during orientation. Just like Al Moubasher, Naomi Hernandez, a recent chemistry graduate with a minor in criminology who works at the UCI Bookstore, also supports orientation students.
“There are a lot more of students like newer freshmen and transfer students coming in [for] their orientations and things like that. So we do on certain days have a little bit more traffic than others,” Hernandez, told New University.
“On-campus jobs are a lot easier,” Hernandez added. She is preparing for her master’s degree in criminalistics, which she will begin in the fall. “[The job] works with your schedule, and they’re flexible because they know that you’re a student.”
For Al Moubasher, the schedule flexibility was one of the reasons why she remains working on-campus. “Mainly because I’m taking classes and because I like this job. It’s really fun. I get to talk to a lot of people that are coming in and touring,” she said.
However, working at UCI during the summer may not be an option for all students since housing availability can limit who remains near campus. For example, freshmen students often need to move out of their dorms and find other housing after completing their first year.
“A lot of the upperclassmen are still working just because they have housing around here,” Hernandez said. “The freshmen who worked here aren’t working during the summer just because they don’t have housing.”
Another incentive for students to continue working is to pay for school-related expenses. Student employees receive the same hourly pay as during the academic year while working fewer hours due to fewer people on campus.
“I wanted to get some extra money,” Oya said. “People have a lot of extra time, and if you have time, you might as well work if you have nothing else to do.”
Even as on-campus activity slows, student employees continue working alongside each other and assist those who visit UCI during the summer.
“We’re here to help our students, we’re here for the public, so whenever we really help out, even though it might be slower,” Gonzalez said.
Chloe Mo is a Features Intern for the summer 2026 quarter. She can be reached at chloem7@uci.edu.
Edited by Aditya Biswas and Geneses Navarro.
