Campus housing to open University Inn as res hall next fall

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

The University Inn will open as a residence hall for returning students for the upcoming fall semester, housing officials said.

Rod Aeschlimann, director of Residential Life, Housing and Food Service, said ResLife is planning for a June opening so summer conference groups can use the inn for housing.

The inn will house up to 297 students, Aeschlimann said.

A University Inn double room will cost as much as a double Canada Hall room at $5,090, Aeschlimann said. A single room in the University Inn will cost $5,990, $100 more than an Argenta double. A single or double premium room will cost $6,390.

The rooms will include a private bathroom for each unit.

A double room will range from 220 to 260 square feet. Single rooms will range from 150 to 200 square feet, and premium doubles will have 350 square feet and some will have two rooms. All the units will have extra large closets, Aeschlimann said.

The University Inn should accommodate students over winter break, he said, at a cost of $445.

“We hope to provide winter break housing for all resident halls,” Aeschlimann said.

The renovated inn will include Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades, a new lobby and a new key and building entry system. New emergency lighting, sprinkler system, fire alarms and a new corridor ventilation system will be included, making sure the inn meets fire code regulations. A new sprinkler system will be installed in the parking garage.

General improvements include new carpeting, interior painting, new furnishings and a laundry room located on the third floor. The laundry room will house 16 sets of washer and dryer units, facilities supervisor Bill Jacques said.

University Inn residents will access their rooms and enter the building using their WolfCards, he said.

Students will swipe their WolfCards to open their room doors and will use their cards to enter the building.

“We want to make the security that the residence halls provide available to as many students as possible,” Jacques said.

The University Inn will also feature community assistants and Canada Hall will switch to CAs at the beginning of the next semester, said Jerome Maese, associate director for ResLife.

“Community assistants are there to provide service and information for residents and resident assistants are there to provide the transition into the college environment,” he said.

RAs and CAs will both assist with the needs of the residents and provide a safe and secure environment, he said.

nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/02/26/campus-housing-to-open-university-inn-as-res-hall-next-fall/

The Guide: Living lessons

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

During college years, students may be presented with an unfortunate dilemma: a horribly small dwelling or a large pad with roommates whom you may or may not get along with. The students who choose to have roommates may be asking for more than they can handle. Picking the right roommates means the difference between hell on earth and a nice place to live.

“When you find a good roommate, keep them,” said Jerome Maese, associate director for Residential Life.

Picking roommates:

• Look beyond friends and find people you can be compatible with, Maese said.
• Finding someone with similar habits and patterns works well, he said. Opposites also complement each other well.
• Finding someone who can pay his or her share of the bills is vital.
• If one rents a room, investigating the roommates provides a level of financial and physical security, he said. Pick a six-month lease until you know you and your roommates are compatible, he said.
• “You can put up with a lot of stuff for six months,” he said.
• Asking questions and being honest with the answers helps prove whether two people can live together, he said.

Questions to ask:

• 1. Finances: How much will each person pay? When? How will utilities be split? What can both parties afford?
• 2. Lifestyle compatibility: How much noise is acceptable? How much cleaning must be done? Partying or studying?
• 3. Boundaries: What kind of boundaries will there be in the roommate relationship?
• 4. Comfort level: Do both parties feel comfortable and safe with each other? Can both parties easily communicate?

Communicate:

“Setting up lines of communication is always better than setting up ground rules,” Maese said.

Set up a meeting at least once a month between roommates, he said. Ask if anything over the past month bugged your roommates in an open forum.

Universal rules:

• Buy your fair share of toilet paper.
• Don’t stink up the kitchen. Smelly cooking infiltrates each person’s room.
• “Cleanliness and using other people’s stuff without asking” form the basis of most arguments between roommates, Maese said.

http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/02/05/the-guide-living-lessons/