More UC Students Consider Campus Living Over Commuting

The University of Cincinnati’s division of Housing and Food Services is expecting a packed house when students move onto campus Sept. 17-18. As of Sept. 21, the demand for a room in the residence halls was up 85 students over the same period last year. Director Todd Duncan says to date, 3,346 students have signed their contracts – above “normal” capacity. Normal capacity in the residence halls is 3,208. Duncan adds as housing demand rises above normal capacity, study lounges are converted into additional living spaces. UC’s housing system has an overflow capacity of 3,400.

Duncan says the growing demand for campus living can be credited in part to UC’s MainStreet corridor that blends academics with student life. One of the anchors of MainStreet which opened in fall 2002 led to the first new housing on campus in 30 years. The $39 million Jefferson Complex – encompassing Turner and Schneider Halls – opened additional space for more than 570 students to move onto campus. The halls also feature suite-style living to address the needs of today’s student (in other words, no community bathrooms).

The central phase of the $233.8 million MainStreet project opened last spring, inviting students into the expanded and renovated Tangeman University Center, the new Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center and the renovated Swift Hall. That opening brought a movie theater, food court and popular restaurants to campus. Just in time for fall (Sept. 18), TUC will celebrate the opening of the Catskeller Game & Sports Lounge which will have billiards, video and Internet games, sportscasts, snacks and beverages.

“A lot of people like to be on campus now that TUC is open,” says UC marketing sophomore Dante Sanderson, who lived in Turner Hall last year and will be moving into Sawyer Hall this month. “Everything is inside of that building.”

Sanderson adds that he finds many benefits to living on campus. His parents’ home is just a few miles away, yet he chose to live in a residence hall.  “It’s easier to get around and you can take advantage of all of the activities, like the festivals and concerts. Plus, you’re closer to class and you don’t have to worry about traffic or parking or anything like that.”

Still to come is the 335,000 square-foot Student Recreation Center now under construction – a section of MainStreet that’s scheduled for completion in winter 2006. The Recreation Center will feature suite-style housing for 224 upperclassmen. The housing portion of the Student Recreation Center is scheduled to open in fall 2005. But this MainStreet attraction features much more to keep students on campus.

“Theoretically, it’s possible for a student never to leave that complex,” says Steven Sayers, associate vice president, campus services. “They can eat there, live there, go to school there and work out there.” The Recreation Center will include a marché-style residential restaurant, six academic classrooms, a fitness and weight area, racquetball courts, gym with basketball court, suspended running track, lap pool, leisure pool, climbing wall and juice bar.

UC’s long-term housing plan, including renovations and construction of new housing, will lead to 4,025 beds on campus by the year 2015. That’s an additional 1,300 beds that will be added from the year 2001.

The total investment in the 15-year UC Housing Master Plan, announced in 2001, amounts to $151 million dollars

UC’s fall quarter begins Sept. 22. Here are details on the residence hall openings and programs to welcome the campus dwellers.

MOVING IN
10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 17
Turner, Schneider, Siddall and Dabney Halls will open to students. Peak times to see the crowds should take place between 9:30 a.m. and noon, with the out-of-towners arriving at around 6 p.m.

10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18
Sawyer, Calhoun and Daniels will open to campus dwellers. Peak times for the crowds on Saturday are expected between 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Can you study through a loud stereo? Can you sleep through a late-night phone call? If your roommate invites a guest upstairs, would you think it was inconsiderate if you weren’t told first, or would you be thinking, ‘The more the merrier?’  The Office of Resident Education and Development reached out to first-year students before the halls opened, as students considered living with a roommate. During Orientation, a special session took students through what to anticipate in the roommate agreement process. “First, we wanted to prepare students for possible conflicts and how to properly handle them,” explains Dawn Wilson, director of Resident Education and Development. “Also, we wanted to make students aware of how community living requires consideration. Your roommate may not want you to use their things without permission. It’s not appropriate to be up all night on the phone when your roommate is trying to sleep. So, based on their responses at Orientation, we showed them that everyone comes here with a different idea of what being considerate and being respectful means, and you need to talk more specifically about what that means to you when the agreement is negotiated at the start of the year.”

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MAKING A MOVE AGAINST HUNGER
For the second year, students moving into the residence halls will take action on fighting hunger in the Cincinnati community. The “Move In Against Hunger,” sponsored by UC’s Just Community initiative and Resident Education and Development, challenges campus residents to bring two canned food goods to donate to the FreeStore Food Bank in Over-the-Rhine. Collection bins will be located in the lobbies of the residence hall. Last year’s food drive raised over 1,500 pounds of food that was donated to the FreeStore.

GREEK ORGANIZATIONS LAUNCH BATTLE OF THE HALLS
Cornhole, relays, tug-of-war contests and water balloon tosses are all part of the “Battle of the Halls,” sponsored by UC’s fraternities and sororities. Teams of students will represent their residence halls when they compete in the games from 2-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18 on McMicken Commons (rain location: Great Hall). Battle of the Halls coordinator Dominic Berardi, vice president of UC’s Interfraternity Council, says the event will feature Chipotle food, entertainment and prizes.

RETURNING CAMPUS RESIDENTS GET A “H.O.T.” WELCOME
New and returning students to the residence halls will be relieved to find a large cart and a group of peers to help them move in. The “Hall Opening Team,” sponsored by UC’s Resident Education and Development, will have student volunteers on hand to help carry the clothes, books and CD collections that will once again be filling the residence halls. Dawn Wilson, director of Resident Education and Development, says over 140 campus dwellers have signed up to serve on the Hall Opening Team. “It’s a great program to get involved with,” says team member Dante Sanderson, a sophomore marketing major who was new to campus when he first joined the Hall Opening Team last year. “It’s a great way to meet people and make new friends.”

HELPING HANDS WELCOME BACK STUDENTS
More Helping Hands will be available for students moving into the residence halls, as UC administrators, faculty and staff join the “Helping Hands” Quality Service Initiative program. More than 250 people are signed up to help students carry their suitcases and other gear, plus assist with directions or an offer of a drink of cold water. Helping Hands co-chair Sallie Heart says top university administrators and 30 UC football players are among the volunteers. The “Helping Hands” volunteers can be spotted by their red T-shirts with the “UC is Listening” logo. Helping Hands will assist with the move-in both Friday and Saturday.

FRENZY 2004 FEATURES A NIGHT OF FUN ON CAMPUS
“Frenzy 2004” will feature music, dancing, dance lessons, photos with the bearcat, artists, food and prizes for new and returning students. Sponsored by Resident Education and Development, the second-annual get-together will be held from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, in the Great Hall. UC’s first Frenzy last year drew nearly 230 people.