I should just shower in a sink.

I am a resident of Mazzuchelli Hall and we recently got new showers. I thought "Great! New, clean, unused showers", but I am sadly disappointed. We are better off with the old ones, as the water pressure is so terrible it just drips and drips out of the shower head. Horrible. My fellow residents couldn't agree more. As I showered yesterday resident Kelsy Holloway asked me over the wall, "Do you take long showers because this water is barely coming out." Too bad my shower had the same exact problem.

Hate-Free Zone Signs

Last Monday, at the Priory's Aquinas Hall, there was an act of hate on one of the floors at the Aquinas Residence Hall. The act of hate was in the form of graffiti painted on a wall. As a result, at least on one floor of Aquinas, residents were encouraged to pick up "hate-free zone" signs to tape on their doors. This was a choice offered to residents just to reinforce the message that you choose if you're for or against acts of hate. According to one person who lives on the third floor, everyone on her floor had taped the "hate-free zone" signs to their doors.

Laundry Washed Out in Res. Halls

One resident who lives on the fourth floor of Power expressed her frustration with the laundry room on the fourth floor. In her words, the laundry machines are "a piece of [expletive]." This year, there is a price increase on doing a load of laundry - from $1 to $1.25 (an increase by $0.25). While it may not seem like much, one has to factor in the rising tuition costs, so an increase in other areas of university expenses isn't welcome to cash-strapped college students.

RA Rule-Breakers

As I walked through the Coughlin Commons yesterday in route to my room, an RA and his commuter friend just walked right though the Commons without showing their ID's or signing in the commuter. This is frustrating to me, as the RA is a university employee, and is not even following his own rule. Does he think that he is special and can get away with anything because he is an RA? This makes me think, do all RAs act this way? Do they break other rules, like underage drinking on campus, or are they truly the good-natured students they claim to be?

RSA Meeting This Week

There will be a Resident Student Association meeting this week, Wednesday at 10 PM at the Priory. Meetings typically take place at the Main Campus's Coughlin Commons Multipurpose Room (CCMPR), but with the increase of residents at the Priory, it is only fair to have some meetings take place at the Priory.

For those without a car, the shuttle will be available to pick people up from the Main Campus at 9:30 PM to drive over to the Priory.

Voting at Dominican

For any residents - in-state and especially out-of-state - there was voter registration for the presidential election last week. The League of Women Voters conducted the registration, and they may come back Wednesday of this week, according to Megan McCabe, president of College Democrats. Though it is uncertain that there will be further voter registration opportunities at DU, the deadline to register is this Friday.

Lights out at the Priory

There have been issues at the Priory with lighting. For residents who live at the Priory, if they're coming back from Main Campus after a night studying, for example; they don't feel safe in the unlit area outside. Some students feel that Physical Plant is neglecting the Priory compared to the Main Campus when it comes to having enough lighting at night at the Priory. While most of the activity happens at the Main Campus, there is a growing number of residents living at the Priory with the housing crunch - shouldn't a change be made already? Or is it in the works?

Homeward Bound

Recently when speaking with freshman resident student Marissa Surma she mentioned the one thing she didn't like about Dominican so far, is how everyone goes home on the weekend. I understand exactly what she means, as I witness the parking lot empty out weekend after weekend. Does the social life just turn everyone away? Or is home just a comfort zone that everyone likes to resort to on the weekends?

Resident turned Commuter

At this Monday's SGA meeting, it was brought up by Keaton Gillogly, Commuter Student Association Rep, that some of his friends "don't feel welcome."

The reason? Last year, they were residents, but this year they're commuters. And no matter if you were a resident one year - rules are rules. Any commuters or guests have to sign in at the Coughlin Commons desk and give their driver's license away - no matter how long they plan to be in the residence halls. While this measure is a good thing for safety and security within the residence halls, residents who become commuters - will see what commuters go through. According to Gillogly, commuters "feel segregated" when visiting their resident friends. For a 20 minute or less trip to a friend's room - you still have to sign in.

Homecoming Reminders

Homecoming is right around the corner, which causes much excitement, but also many concerns for the residence life staff, as Rob Babcock expressed with me recently. He said that resident students should keep in mind the alcohol, visitation, and quiet hours procedures to avoid any problems during this fun-filled week.

Contact Residence Life at x6217 for more information

The Famous Commuter Hang-Out

As a current resident student, I have observed that many commuters seem to congregate in the same area everyday. At any time a whole group of people can be seen socializing in the clock lobby right outside the social hall. As a resident student, I am just curious as to what is so special about this frequently populated area??

Student Involvement trying to include commuters?

As I walked down the main stairs in Lewis today, I decided to make a stop and look at one cluster of posters. I noticed that there were not one, but two posters relating to commuters ONLY. They were both just "get together' events, but is this an attempt to get commuters more involved in on-campus activities?

Go Green!

The garbage can in the Power 2 Lounge is filled past the brim at 1:47 PM Monday, September 22. The "go green" sign seems to lose significance against it. And it's pass the trash. As I'm sure other residents can attest to - it's not the first time signs in the Residence Halls lose key letters and obscure the message's friendly reminder. I'm wondering if the "p" just came loose accidentally or someone took it off. I'd like to think the best of people and say the "p" came loose by itself. Either way, no one can deny that it is amusing to see. Laughter is the best medicine after all.

Oh, and I checked shortly before 5 PM the same day and found the garbage was taken out.

Spaghetti Night in Centennial Kitchen

Bring a plate tomorrow, Tuesday (9/23) at 8 PM for Spaghetti Night in Centennial Kitchen. It is hosted by the Resident Student Association Hall Representatives.

Hall Reps are residents who signed up at the first RSA meeting to represent the residence halls through doing the bulletin boards (on each floor), putting together events and other responsibilities. Though they are not on the RSA Executive Board, they contribute to making residents feel more welcome through events such as Spaghetti Night.

This isn't the first time free food was offered via Centennial Kitchen...it surely won't be the last.

Security in Res Halls

Is their any security in the res halls? Can just anyone walk by without showing their ID? Chances are yes. The residence hall procedure is the most relaxed security system I have ever witnessed. Yes, students can only have one entrance to the resident halls, which can be quite inconvenient but is probably safe. This one entrance really has no effect though when just anyone can walk by because the student worker can't do anything. Maybe a real security guard should be posted there?

Look for Wednesday's issue of the Dominican Star with a story on the positive light on the res hall security, which I do not necessarily agree with.

Trayless Tuesdays

Anyone who wants to eat at the dining hall on Tuesdays will have to contend with having no trays. At first, I thought it was a one-time thing as I came in to eat dinner one Tuesday a few weeks ago, but it looks like it's something that Chartwells is trying out in the dining hall. I'm not sure what is the reasoning behind this, but as expected, not too many people are thrilled about having no trays. At least on the bright side of things, it is only in effect one day a week. People may have to make multiple trips to the dining hall if they want soup or what not, but I hope this new development serves a purpose.

Late night wake up call

Past 1am on Wednesday night - the fire alarm rang in the Residence Halls. One of the downsides to living in the Res. Halls is fire alarms - which largely seem to be false fire alarms pulled by students. I do not know what caused the fire alarm Wednesday night, but so far, it has been the first fire alarm I've experienced so late at night. I had no idea what to do - and looking back on it, it was definitely a false fire alarm and I should have just stayed in my room. The noise was so loud though - it was either wait it out or try going back to sleep. I went outside via the back door of Power - only a few people did the same - with a crate keeping the door open because otherwise we would be locked out and have to walk the long way back to Lewis in PJs. Who would want to do that?

Today I heard that some either stayed in their rooms or slept through it. All in all, I hope that this will be the last false fire alarm for some time - or at least until the end of this semester. Is that too much to ask?

Pool in the Res Halls

Many students want to take a break out of their busy schedules and relax. One way for resident students to do this is play pool in the Coughlin Commons. Junior Andre Burrell plays a game Wednesday night with friends.

Wireless Res. Halls?

Wireless in the Residence Halls: Unlikely or Potential Reality?

Campus-wide wireless internet access is a possibility in the next five years. The question is will it be worth having wireless internet in the Residence Halls? Currently there are numerous designated places that have wireless internet access. The key concern is where students would benefit most from wireless internet access. Several students and faculty put forth their views on wireless internet as the technological landscape changes – sometimes too fast to follow.

Last year, the student IT committee created an online IT survey that tried to gauge feedback from Dominican students about technological initiatives and student usage levels. According to Jill Albin-Hill, Director of Information Technology, 657 students responded to the survey with 37% being residents and 63% being commuters.

For the “Where would you like to see wireless accessibility on campus?” question, residence hall rooms had the highest percentage with 38.8% while the second highest was 36.6 % for classrooms. Also, residence hall lounges came in at 10.9%, though it was beat out by the ‘Other’ category, (12%) which Albin-Hill believes refers to outside wireless access.

Regarding wireless internet access in the classrooms, Albin-Hill thinks this may be more beneficial since “all students would benefit” from the access not just residents. Another factor is how faculty teach their classes and if there is a need for students to bring their laptops to class.

Campus-wide wireless internet access is in the five year technology strategic plan, according to Albin-Hill. IT is looking into how to best integrate technology and where to take technology at DU based on where technology will go in the near future. For a wireless campus, it will cost around $40,000 according to Albin-Hill. A main priority for wireless internet is insuring that Clean Access Agent will work with it for network security purposes. Albin-Hill wants to make sure that IT has the capacity to handle wireless internet and maintain network security.

According to Rob Babcock, Director of Residence Life, he sees it as IT “having the ability to shut someone down.” During Babcock’s seven years working in Residence Life, he has seen his share of students not using the school-provided internet access appropriately. “We have had situations where students acted unethically and/or illegally with their school-provided internet access, so IT wants to have the option to shut it down if necessary,” says Babcock. One example took place three or four years ago where resident student used the school-provided internet access in their room to run an online business. Another resident student shared large files through the internet connection.

Over the last six years though, IT was able to “increase university internet capacity by 800%” according to Albin-Hill. This means that there has been a significant increase in internet bandwidth since the time that Albin-Hill started working at Dominican in August 2003. Even with this, IT is looking into continual improvement of the technology on campus. One of the main focuses is making Clean Access Agent more flexible with mobile devices like cell phones. To contact IT, go to: Information Technology website.

According to Babcock, wireless internet access in the rooms issue is not brought up often – only once or twice a year. “ It comes up from time to time, but I wouldn’t label it a ‘hot’ issue,” Babcock said. To contact Residence Life, visit their myDU page: Residence Life website.

Steve Bala, a junior resident and a member of last year’s student IT committee, does not think having wireless internet in the residence halls is the best decision. At least five to eight wireless routers must be placed in each residence hall and residents have to “worry about people hacking their signal, viruses and possible corruption” Bala said.

Though Coughlin Hall has an easily accessible drop ceiling while other residence halls like Centennial or Power Halls have plastered ceilings. One would need to “knock down a wall or ceiling” to get the router placed. Also, residents have to contend with drop signals – similar to the poor cell phone signal receptivity in certain areas on campus. If there is a router problem, someone would have to go up to the ceiling to fix the problem, which is time-consuming.

Jaron Salazar, a sophomore and Resident Student Association president, says that the Residence Halls going wireless is an issue that “Residence Life has on the drawing board.” Last year, the idea for wireless internet in the halls was thrown out there. This involves addressing issues on how much it would cost, how far wireless would reach and how everyone would adapt to the change. There was an idea involving extension of the wireless internet access from the Cyber Café to the residence halls or if “a wireless transmitter closer to the dorms” is a better option. Salazar thinks that wireless would be “more beneficial than being stuck in one room” and it will allow residents to “be more mobile.”

Amy Preston, junior and RSA secretary agrees, “It will add another convenience to residents” and provide “increased mobility” whereas previously residents “were stuck at their desks.” To contact Resident Student Association, you can visit their myDU page: Resident Student Association.

“I think hard line (Ethernet cable) is better than wireless because you’re not relying on the signal,” Bala said. If getting a good wireless signal for cell phone within the halls is not easy, then what does this say about wireless internet access? “It would require a different set of rules compared to what we have right now,” says Bala.

“Basically what it comes down to is time, money and money” Bala said. Despite the pros and cons of wireless internet access, if the five-year technology strategic plan works out; then the whole campus will be wireless – Residence Halls included.

For more related links:

IT Policy Manual

To voice any student concerns, go to the Dean of Students Office.

Cliques in the Dining Hall

With the tables at the Dining Hall only seating six people, some students try to rectify the situation. Because how fair is it if more than six people want to be together with friends (usually during dinnertime), but the table is filled? So, the next best option is to put two tables together, though Chartwells staff have told a number of students not to do that. So what is the solution then? Sit at two separate tables i.e. the one or two people who came too late to grab a seat...should they just sit at a nearby table? Is this even a big problem at the Dining Hall? I know from friends that eventually during the course of the meal, the staff will tell people to separate the tables.

Is it wrong to accomodate others who want to sit at the same table? With limited seating at each table, it seems to encourage cliques or only a small group of friends to sit together. I'd personally prefer if all the cliquing stayed in middle school and high school. Though cliques are unavoidable no matter where you go, wouldn't it be nice if it stayed out of the dining hall? A tall order, sure, but just something to think about...

Stars on Wheels

The Commuter Student newsletter, Stars on Wheels, is looking for submissions for the next issue, according to myDU. If interested, contact Bill Dlugokienski at wdlugokienski@dom.edu for more information.

Living in Mazzuchelli

I visited a room in Mazzuchelli Hall since I wanted to get a sense of how the rooms looked like. The rooms were converted from offices or nuns' rooms starting this school year, and according to Mazzuchelli resident, Lia Rainey, there are more pros than cons with living in this new wing on the fourth floor.

It's "the best place she's ever lived" in the Residence Halls. The main thing Rainey was excited about was the big closet - which is basically a walk-in closet with a rack and five shelves of storage space. She says she'll use it as a guest room when someone visits. Seeing the closet for myself, I think it's adequate to say that it's a good size for that. She "loves the wall space" and her windows are soundproof when closed. This helps since her room is located near the docking bay and it is always noisy when the truck comes in the morning.

These are just a few positive things about Mazzuchelli. Overall, Rainey, a senior herself, thinks that senior residents should have first selection of the Mazzuchelli rooms since for seniors who want singles, Mazzuchelli is a good option to look at.

Residents Get Twisted

Wednesday, September 17 Resident Student Association is sponsoring a Twister Tournament in the Coughlin Commons Multipurpose Room at 9 p.m. The tournament will be followed by a general RSA meeting at 10 p.m. where you can share your opinions and concerns.

Locked out!

The Residence Halls on the Main Campus can only be entered via one way - through the Coughlin Commons. Now, you can exit through various other doors, but you have to be lucky to enter in through one of the 'shortcut' doors.

One example that I know of is the back door from Power Hall leading to the Sisters' Parking lot and further down, Lewis Hall and Parmer at the end of the walkway. This door is exit-only and if you want to enter through it to get to your room faster - you have to hope someone is near the door and willing to let you in. Otherwise, it's through the Coughlin Commons since - due to security reasons - you should enter through there in order to show your ID at the desk. And that is the only place that residents should really enter to get to their room - no matter how much the 'shortcut' way is more appealing though it requires a bit of luck.

Why not, according to resident student Nadya Remy, open up the door on the 2nd floor of Power that used to lead to faculty offices? Last year, those offices were converted to rooms for residents to relieve the housing shortage. But as a result, that door is completely closed off both ways. You can't enter it to get to your room (convenient if you have a room on Power's 2nd floor) or even to exit the Residence Halls and go into Power...without having to go outside. If it is possible to do an exit-only door with that back door previously mentioned - why not with this one? As far as I know, you don't need to show ID to leave the Residence Halls...

Thoughts?

Maintenance waits till morn'

When it's midnight and your toilet clogs, your sink overflows, or your door won't close what can you do? Maintenance is on call via switchboard, but are you really going to get a response at that hour? Chances are no...and even if you do, they probably will not have the resources to fix your problem. Looks like your best bet is to put in a maintenance request and wait till the morning. Should this really be the case?

Food service: Thumbs up or down?

It's all about opinion. Was Chartwells better toward the end of the last school year? Or at least had they come up with a better system to handle the volume of students/faculty/visitors, etc.? It seems like this year, the long lines are back and there is the question of how is the food service working to relieve this problem. A key issue is the number of staff at the Cyber Cafe. Sometimes there isn't enough - when it would help to have more people at the sub station taking sub/pizza orders. On Sunday around dinner time (Sept. 7), the line of people was short at the Cyber, but the wait for making an order and even to pay at the register took longer than expected. Sometimes, it just looks like there are not enough people staffing at the Cyber. What are other's thoughts on it?

Attention Commuters: Closed Roads from Flooding

In result of all the rain and flooding this weekend, many roads have been closed which may affect your morning commute. Also, some classes may be canceled due to flooding, so be sure to check your Dominican email account.

Visit the Chicago Tribune traffic website for more information.

Missing screens

There was recently (Sept. 12) an email from Residence Life about residents losing or breaking screens in some of the rooms. Since a large number of residents need to replace their window screens, physical plant will charge extra (a minimum of $100) for any replacements starting October 1, 2008. Residents are told not to remove their screens as well. Is this price fair? Or is it necessary considering how many residents are requesting screen replacement?

Volunteers Needed!

Calling all DU Residents...this morning Residence Hall Director Evy Koutzas sent out an emailing regarding emergency volunteers for the River Forest Police Department. With all of the recent rain, the RFPD needs all the help it can get sand-bagging near the corner of Chicago and Thatcher. Call switchboard for more information.

Roof is official

Today a campus-wide email was sent by Amy McCormack, Senior Vice President for Administration and Business Affairs, regarding the roof (5th floor) of the parking garage, which stated that it is offiically open for use during the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Will this small parking relief really be helpful??

For more info, visit the Dominican University website.

Worth the wait?

The food service at the Cyber Cafe is not exactly down to a science. Considering this is Chartwell's second year at Dominican, this shouldn't be a surprise. Either way, this hasn't stopped some from expressing their issues with the service at Cyber. A big issue is the long lines at certain times during the week - 1 PM on weekdays for example when the Cyber opens the meal exchange option, which all residents have though commuters can request it if wanted. One person came to the Cyber around 4:45 PM to get dinner, but it took her until 5:30 to order her chicken wrap.

Another common issue, which I've also experienced, is inavailability of food items. One person was planning to order a turkey sub, but by the time it was her turn to order, she found out that there was no turkey available. A few times last year, I found that there was no lettuce, tomato or wheat bread to name some. Wraps were frequently out as well. There was also a period of time when pizza was not on the menu because the pizza oven was out of order. Recently, I had to wait longer for pizza at the Cyber due to the dough not being readily available.

The Dining Hall also has the wait issue - when dinner starts at 5 PM weekdays. The key just may be avoiding the 'rush times' when going to eat on campus. But for those who can't avoid it (i.e. a 5:30 class), that may not be an option.

Here's the mail...it never fails!

Many resident studnets walk by their mailboxes multiple times a day, but never even bother to open it. Other resident students open their box at least once a day, only to find nothing. Do they even serve a purpose anymore? Most students communicate with their friends and family through email or the phone these days. If mail is used it is mainly for online ordering or care packages, which are picked up in the mailroom, so should residents even still have those tiny mailboxes?

More Officers in RSA

Resident Student Association has more officers this fall. It's not just President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Though last year, they added the Director of Publicity position (this year, currently unfilled); there are quite a few additions. The new officer positions are: Road Trips, Community Service and Spiritual Committee officers. Previously, Road Trips, Service and Spiritual were additional responsibilities for the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The question is: what was the motive behind this? One explanation is that it is not easy successfully managing committees in addition to executive board duties. From being involved in RSA, I got the sense that some committees just weren't as successful as they could have been. So this could be a good thing for the executive board and residents alike. More focus given to a committee like Road Trips equals more and better road trips possibly?

Parking in parking garage

Though the parking garage was meant to provide more parking spaces for the DU community, parking is still a prevalent issue. Since last year, residents have been parking their cars in the parking garage overnight. After all, it is convenient, though since residents live on campus and may not drive as often as commuters - it is almost like they're using it as 'a storage facility' as some have coined it.

But of course, there are two sides to every issue. There's a chance that there aren't any other parking spaces available and the only place is at the parking garage. According to Norah Collins at Monday's SGA meeting, as a courtesy to commuters, residents can't park there overnight so as to leave parking spots for commuters in the morning. Also, despite the presence of security cameras in the parking garage, that doesn't mean it is safe. Most crimes happen in parking garages especially overnight, so anything to prevent that is the main priority.

There are plans to open the fifth floor of the garage to further relieve the parking situation.

More info on Parking

Wellness Center

At the latest Student Government Association meeting, an attendee brought up the absence of a nurse practitioner at Dominican's Wellness Center. Since she lives on campus being five hours away from home, it is disadvantageous to her to not have that resource. Norah Collins, Associate Dean of Students and Advisor for SGA, said that the resignation of the nurse practitioner came at an inopportune time - in August soon before classes started. The Wellness Center is currently being evaluated and no hiring decisions are being made just yet. There are other resources available to residents if needed - so those who live far from home have options open to them. The next best option is Rush-Oak Park, which the university has a relationship with and DU students can get a 50% discount there.

10 p.m. Mass in the Resident Halls

New this semester campus ministry has decided to hold a 10 p.m. Mass on Sundays in the Coughlin Commons Multipurpose room. This is a "last call" for students who are unable to attend the 9 a.m. mass at the Priory or the 7 p.m. mass at the Rosary chapel. It is fitting for a student just returning to campus from the weekend.

For more information please visit the University Ministry site.

GAS $$

A big issue for commuters: GAS prices. Driving back and forth everyday can become quite costly these days, especially with prices in the Chicagoland area at about $4.00 a gallon! With this expense gas is actually an issue for everyone...maybe it is time to pull out the bikes or use public transportation.

Wireless internet

I talked with Nathaniel McInnis, User Support Technician for IT, about the potential for wireless internet in the Residence Halls. He said that there was a IT survey last year to gauge the response from residents about how many people would prefer wireless access in the Res. Halls. Though many people would like to have it - the cost to do this is a main obstacle. IT would be responsible for paying the cost (correction: could be upwards of $40,000), so if Residence Life could help with that cost - it would be appreciated.

Welcome!

Welcome to the very first Dominican University blog on Resident and Commuter Life! It is here you will find comments, questions, concerns, and stories on everything relating to the life of DU students in regards to resident and commuter life! If their are problems with parking, food, your dorms, social life, etc. they will all be discussed here.

Feel free to comment and share your own opinion, as Diana and I keep you up to date on your DU resident and commuter news!