University of Massachusetts students living in the Townehouses on 50 Meadow Street came back from spring break to a surprise – a new fence around one of the two quads.

The black fence pieces stand about nine feet tall and block all openings between the houses. The fences cage in the yard in the middle of one of the quads, making it so the only entrance to the yard is through the houses. The main goal of the fences is to discourage day drinks and the destruction some say they bring.

Patrick Kamins of Kamins Real Estate said it was the Condominium Association’s choice to put up the fences.

“We put them up to keep the unwanted guests away, to protect the property, to protect the people that live there and to protect their belongings,” said Kamins.

Kamins claimed that every resident received a letter giving notice of the fence and explaining the purpose of it. He also stated there is a possibility that more fences will be added, however nothing is contracted as of now.

“This is an effort to keep people that are not invited, the trespassers, away from the property and to protect the residents that live there,” he said.

Brigid Fenn, a junior in the journalism department, said she found out about the fence through a group chat last Tuesday. Although she lives in the quad without the fencing, she received no notice ahead of time. She is “so scared” they might fence in her quad.

“It’s not as fun with the fences. The whole point about the Townehouses is that it’s like a community and with the fences it’s exclusive. We want a big yard and don’t want to be fenced in. It’s kind of like jail,” said Fenn.

Zach Rignola, a junior studying economics, was surprised by the fence. He also found out about it through a group chat last Wednesday.

“I think it’s kind of unnecessary. They kind of came out of nowhere with it and I feel like it made some students upset. [The Condominium Association] are going to get the wrong reaction that they wanted out of it,” said Rignola.

Vinny Capano, a senior finance major saw a post about the fence on social media on Friday. Capano thought it is a waste of money.

“They tried to, like, sneak it while we were away,” said Capano.

Kamins Real Estate manages the Townehouses as well as over 850 other apartments near the University.

Abigail Charpentier can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @abigailcharp.