The housing and dining services and camps and conferences services at Eastern will endure busy summer months as a result of the many summer camps.

From the first week of June through the first week of August, Eastern will host and house different camps for both high school and middle school students.

Matt Boyer, assistant director of residential life and conference services, said Eastern typically hosts 45-50 different camps throughout the summer, including sports camps, academic camps and marching band camps, among other types of camps.

A majority of the camps are from Illinois, but some participants come from all over the country and stay anywhere from three days to a week, depending on the camp.

Boyer said multiple camps come at the same time, and the first two weeks of July are usually the busiest time during the summer because that is when most of the camps come.

“Our main focus is to get guests on campus and to experience what Eastern has to offer, and to show a safe and secure environment,” Boyer said.

The summer camps also promote Eastern, keep staff employed throughout the summer and offer a good opportunity for high school students to have their first experience with living on a college campus, Boyer said.

Mark Hudson, the director of housing and dining services, said while the camps are here, they are housed in the residence halls.

The type of camp and the size of the camp determines which hall the campers stay in.

“Some groups have exclusive access to certain buildings,” Hudson said.

Hudson also said certain camps receive a meal plan and the rates and the amount of meals a camp receives depends on how long the camp stays.

Hudson said small changes are made inside of the residence halls like posting pictures of famous people who attended Eastern on the bulletin boards.

“It’s a recruitment opportunity, that’s one reason why we have the camp and conference program,” Hudson said, “We want to be exposed to these students who are trying to decide where to go to college.”

AJ Fournier can be reached at 581-2812 or ajfournier@eiu.edu.