By Michael Hazan

In the first year, your student will most likely be living on campus in one of our Residence Halls! Each building houses students from around the United States, who come together to form one unique community, both floor- and building-wide.

By living on campus, your student already has built-in connections to the campus community through their roommate, suite-mates, and a Resident Assistant (RA). It is extremely important for your student to get to know their RA and build a relationship with them. Their RA can “assist” them in potentially getting involved around campus or within the residence hall. They are most likely involved in student life in some capacity or know people who are, and can easily connect them.

Within the Residence Halls, your student has multiple opportunities to get involved. They can participate in our Hall Councils or Conduct Board. These organizations work with University Housing to better the community. With the former, it is essentially a hall government where your student works on creating community with others. They are able to develop skills such as leadership building, event planning, and time management. Through the latter, members oversee cases regarding students who have violated housing policies and determine subsequent outcomes. Both are wonderful ways to meet people and make the campus a better place.

By living on campus, your student also has easy access to all public events located on campus. There are always programs going on through Union Productions, Student Government and Activities, and even movies at our Askew Student Life Center. These present opportunities to meet new people, learn more about what campus life has to offer, and get free food! Almost every event offers food or swag as an incentive for attending. A college student’s favorite word is “free,” after all!