Do you think Dominican is Haunted?

I recently spoke to CSA member Tim Keenan about the annual CSA Haunted Tours event, which will be occurring Oct. 30 in the Social Hall. Apparently this is a huge event. Last year they had about 250 attendees, which would explain their desperate need for volunteers as Diana questions below. Keenan mentioned that many of the attendees in the past have been families from the outside community because it is a free event.

Keenan also expressed concern about this year's event though because of an article published in today's issue of the Dominican Star entitled "Dominican Ghosts Stories: Fact or Fiction." The story claims that Dominican ghost stories are false and quotes a few sister's. Keenan does not seem to agree with this because he claims his group has been doing research on the ghosts stories for a few years now. He says they have conducted interviews with many faculty and staff who believe Dominican really is haunted. This is where their event begins because they tell the staff and faculty stories during the CSA Haunted tours.

So will the Dominican Star story effect CSA's Haunted tours? Probably not, but the question of Dominican being truly haunted still lingers. It is up to you to decide?

CSA looking for volunteers...

On myDU, there was a notice from Commuter Student Association asking for more volunteers for the third annual CSA Haunted Tours.

Here is what was posted on the myDU page:

Do you have what it takes to be involved in CSA Haunted Tours? Then come and join us at Our Next Meeting: Thursday, October 23rd, 2:30, Lewis Lounge (it’s at the end of the first floor of Lewis by the stairs).
We are still looking for plenty of volunteers to fill positions such as tour leader, spook, social hall leader, and much more. It will be a night of fun, free candy and deserts, and scary stories galore! This is our third time hosting this at Dominican and we hope to truly make it an event to remember! Anyone is welcome to get involved and the actual tours are open to the enitre Dominican community. So, invite everyone to join us at CSA Haunted Tours on Thursday, October 31st from 7pm to 1am in the Social Hall!!!
For more information, contact Tim Keenan at keentim@dom.edu or contact CSA at csa@dom.edu.

My question is has the organization had problems in the past with getting volunteers to take on necessary roles? Or is CSA just getting the word out early to insure more people know about it - and as the day nears, things work out? I've heard that this was a big event for CSA and if they're doing this for the third time, then going by that, I'm guessing gaining volunteers is not too big of an issue. Otherwise why would they continue to organize the event? I personally think it's a cool idea and would consider going on one of the tours. This year will be my last shot, so I might as well.

Always entertaining...

I attended last Wednesday's Resident Student Association (RSA) general meeting, which continued to prove to me that it's one of the most entertaining/fun meetings to attend. It may be due to there being a large pool of residents who can attend the meetings (versus other clubs that are more specialized in interest), that's true, but the energy at the 10 PM meetings is always at pretty high levels. I've been to RSA meetings in years' past, and I don't recall it being as lively as the recent meetings. I do notice that the same group of residents attend the meetings, which helps the liveliness of the meetings considering the group's overall energy.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because of something that happened at last week's meeting. One of the residents who usually attends meetings came to the meeting pretending to be a foreign student looking for where the RSA meeting would be held. He adopted a ridiculous foreign accent (it did its job at making others laugh) and commented on the reception he got from members at the meeting.

An RA who was sitting near him calmly explained to him that he was in the right place. I was sitting in my seat and wondering what was the point of this acting stint. Either way, I have to admit it was pretty funny. It was a good way to get people energetic in the evening when they're probably worn out after a day of classes and homework.

Later on in the meeting, the resident who did the 'foreign student' act asked the others at the meeting about their opinion on his performance. No one could deny it was memorable, though I would love to find out if it was planned. Did the RSA executive board have prior knowledge that it would happen?

Do you attend Mass?

Every Sunday I do my best to attend the 7 p.m. Mass in the Chapel and it always makes me upset to see the lack of participation. The same students, professors, and sisters are at Mass every week. We are a Catholic community and a large part of our community has grown up around the church, gone to Catholic grade schools, high schools, etc. If we have this background, then why do we never fill the chapel on a Sunday night?

It is such a convenient time for students, especially residents, to come to Mass. I can understand if commuters do not go because they are most likely at home, but I even go in sweatpants sometimes, as it is better to go looking like a bum, then not go at all.

Are we all just worn out with Mass? Are that many people not Catholic? Are we cramming in our homework, which we put off the entire weekend, during this time? Are we just too lazy to walk up to the second floor of Lewis on a Sunday night? Please enlighten me.

Printing: out of control?

I know that as a resident without a printer in my room, I'm feeling more and more guilty about printing out long (20 -30 pages) readings for class via the printers on campus (Library, Tech Center, etc.). I have no choice for certain classes since you have to have the readings with you in class. While I see some students with laptops in class, I don't see it as common thing to do. Though bringing your laptop to class where you can view the reading in class without having to print it out (the printed readings are just going to be tossed at the end of the semester anyway) is a smart idea. Especially if you want to do your part to "Go Green."

But still sometimes you have to have a printed out copy just to make quick notes or highlight key passages. And I don't know about anyone else, but I would feel a little awkward if I were typing out notes in class during a lecture. It seems impolite to me. If Dominican were a bigger institution or a state university with big lecture halls, I would feel more comfortable bringing my laptop since with a smaller class size - you feel like you're under the microscope. The only person with a laptop in a class of 30 is like the odd person out. I'm not sure if teachers are even encouraging students to bring their laptops to class. I haven't heard anything about it.

Now I used to have a printer in my room during my freshmen year, but it broke down and I wasn't too eager to print out long readings. I would have to pay for the ink cartridge if it ran out. But having ready access to a printer to print out papers was beneficial. All too frequently, I go to print a paper out on campus and I usually resort to printing at the Tech Center. The Library is always full at the time I need something printed out. I feel like I need to plan time to print so that I'm not in a rush.

Thoughts?

Longer than expected

For the past few weeks in the dining hall, there has been an increasing number of times where the line was backed up due to the ID scanning machine not functioning. Students have to resort to handing their ID over so their names and ID numbers would be written down on a piece of paper. When it happened once, I brushed it off, but I've noticed that the manual system has been occurring with inexplicable frequency. I wonder what is going on? Is it something Chartwell's is "trying" out similar to "Trayless Tuesdays"? Or is it just on some days, the machines are just not working? I understand if it happens once in a while, but I think it's happening too frequently for that to be the reason.

Today around 5:15 PM, I had to manuever my way through a long line of students waiting to show their IDs and get something to eat. While the first half hour or so of dinnertime (which starts at 5 PM) is a busy time and long lines are expected, I'm pretty sure the delay was also attributed to the ID scanning machine being down. I didn't check for sure if the machine was down (I didn't eat dinner in the dining hall), but the line wasn't moving smoothly as it should have if you only had to scan your card and go. Not to mention at lunch today, I had to give my card so my name and ID number could be written down. So it's not too farfetched to assume that at dinnertime, the situation would be the same.

I'm the type of person who sometimes just wants to get their food and sit down without a long delay. For those who don't have night classes, you're better off going to dinner around 6 PM if you want to eat in the dining hall. Or come down a few minutes before 5 PM. The initial rush is ridiculous on some days, which gives me reason to come down later than usual.

Cost of Housing: Just a Typo

After contacting Res Life about the difference in the cost of housing for the same exact room in Centennial for returning and incoming students, I finally received a reply, which stated that this is in fact a typo and has been corrected on the website.

I am glad to find out that some students are not having to pay more money just because they are upperclassmen.

Commuters have your voice heard

Commuters do you have any issues or problems you would like to address on campus? Well, I recently noticed a commuter comment box located on the bullitin board at the old grill, so you can have your voice heard.

It looks like Student Involvement is attempting to get commuters more involved on campus...but I would be curious to see if anyone actually leaves comments or if a empty box sits.

Incidences in Power: Just between friends

Recently in Power Hall, there were slightly different messages containing racial slurs on the same dry erase board (i.e. one message was erased and another one was written on the board, etc.) outside on someone's door. The resident who lived in that room was contacted, according to Trudi Goggin, Dean of Students. While the initial impression was that the resident was being targeted, the person told Goggin that it was between him and friends. Because the issue was different from the graffiti incident in late September (where no one has been held accountable), a university-wide email has not been sent like with the graffiti incident.

Goggin told the resident that anything posted in a public area (i.e. outside one's door where it is viewable by anyone walking down the hallway) should not offend, injure or harass anyone who sees it. Anyone who sees an offensive message will not know the story behind it...that it was just something between friends. So, this is a cautionary lesson for residents: watch what you write.

Do You Smell Gas?

Smell Gas in Mazzuchelli Hall? No need to worry according to RA Michelle Calvert. She stated the following in an email sent to all Mazzuchelli Residents, "If you see/smell gas in the hallway or in your rooms, do not fret! Physical Plant is using a gas-powered saw in the convent (the floor below us)."

Hope my fellow Mazzuchelli Residents aren't disturbed by this, but I would like to thank Michelle for the warning.

The Cost of Campus Housing Follow-Up

Last week I posted about a price difference between freshman housing in Centennial and returning students housing, as the cost is more expensive for returning students. I contacted Residence Life via email about this and have yet to receive a response. We will just have wait and see if they have anything to say about it.

Don't Vote Unless...

I received an email Tuesday from one of the RAs on my floor about a video that we [residents on her floor] should look at. Everyone should look at it though, so I'll provide the link below. It is a "Get out and vote" video basically, but with a number of celebrities participating in the video. It's about a 5 minute public service announcement starting out with celebrities saying you shouldn't vote, don't bother...but then it switches around and tells the viewer that "you should vote if you care about this issue, etc." The PSA also reminds people that they have to register to vote and that they should get their friends to vote as well.

Here's the link:
Five Friends Vote (Uncensored)

Also, Resident Student Association sent out an email regarding voter registration information.

Elmhurst Also Encounters Hate Crime

As many of you know, a few weeks ago a hate crime against African-Americans occured at the Priory's Aquinas Residence Hall. Now at nearby Elmhurst College, a hate crime has also occured with a Muslim student who was attacked in the bathroom. For the full story visit the Chicago Tribune website.

We all just need to be aware what is going on around us, as we all know Dominican security is not top-notch.

RSA's Root Beer Keg Party

Before Resident Student Association's general meeting tomorrow (that is Wednesday at 10 P.M.), there will be a root beer keg party and a Twister competition starting at 9 P.M. The root beer keg party is definitely something new...RSA hasn't done this before from my recollection.

I would check it out if I have the time to. I'm wondering if RSA organizes some (or maybe most?) of their events based on resident feedback or just what the Executive Board thinks would be a good idea? I'm not sure if the root beer keg party is being put on by the Hall Reps. I'm just going by a RSA email sent Tuesday morning (10/14).

Sounds like a cool thing to check out. I remember last year, RSA organized a s'mores event outside the Commons where residents toasted marshmallows at the grills outside and made s'mores. I personally enjoyed that event. But I like s'mores, so it was a no-brainer for me.

No TV Service in Res Halls Friday

The Dominican community received an email (5:33 PM Tuesday) from Jill Albin-Hill from IT to notify everyone that there will be network outages this Friday due to there being no classes that day. Therefore, perfect time to perform needed system maintenance. What surprised me a bit was that television service would be down in the residence halls.

Here is that portion of the email:
In addition, our TV service provider, will be working to relocate the entire system on the Main Campus to the IT Server Room. This will result in NO TELEVISION service for the Residence Halls and possible intermittent outages for the TV’s in the Library.

Now, I don't mind that TV service will be down - I don't have many "Must See" shows on my TV-watching list and none are on Friday. But I wonder how long the TV service will be down because it doesn't say so...all of Friday or just a part of the day? The network outages will occur in the morning according to the email.

From the email:
7:00 AM – 8:00 AM: Email
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM: Intermittent short network outages (1 minute or less per server) for all applications and network storage locations
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: myDU

Poor Centennial Hall

Attention Angry Residents of Centennial Hall:

Please do not punch holes in anymore of our hallways. We are all now getting charged $20 per resident according to an email sent out by Residence Hall Director Katie Kramer last week.

Voting and out-of-state residents

I went home over this weekend and with the elections fast approaching, I was not surprised to find mail sent home that listed voting sites and where to vote if you're registered to vote and wish to vote early. The dates if you want to vote early in Illinois are between October 13 through Oct. 30th. Unfortunately there are only certain sites that allow early voting - the town hall in my hometown is one of them.

I've already registered to vote at the DMV near where I live, and since I live half an hour away from home, I don't have to go through the absentee ballot process. This is the first time I'll be voting since I registered in 2005 after the presidential election. So I am pretty excited about it mostly because this election is catching a lot more people's interest than previous elections (considering its historic nature).

I've talked with a few residents who live out of state and they have either received their absentee ballot or are planning to get it done. Each state has different requirements for absentee voters, but in general, "if you're away at college, you can almost always vote by absentee ballot." ( via http://www.longdistancevoter.org/absentee_voting_rules ).

I'm wondering how many out-of-state residents at DU are getting involved in this election. Is anyone encountering any obstacles or is voting by absentee ballot easy to do?

After all the hassle...

I recently got a new laptop and the McAfee Antivirus Software that came with it expired this past Saturday (10/11). I went home over the weekend and installed this antivirus software recommended to me (Avira) and I paid for a year's subscription (for better protection). It worked fine until I came back on campus Sunday night and found out that only McAfee, Symantec, Norton or AVG are recognized as valid antivirus programs (in order to use your computer in the residence halls).

Now, I knew the only real solution was to uninstall the antivirus I took the effort to pay for and install Symantec which is provided free by DU. I know this since I've had Symantec in previous years at Dominican. But I didn't want to jump into action and uninstall an antivirus program I paid for. Though it wasn't much compared to other antivirus programs that overprice; I hate paying for something and not being able to use it.

It turns out that I was right in my assumption (after getting it checked out today) - I needed to uninstall Avira and download Symantec. But once I graduate from Dominican, I'm going back to Avira since my impression is that Symantec is only available for free for students (and the rest of the DU community). The lesson: don't bother trying to install antivirus software that isn't on the list of Dominican's accepted antivirus programs. I'm still unhappy about it, but at least the solution was simple.

Hookas on Campus

Today Residence Life sent out an email regarding the use of Hookas on campus because this has become a big issue. Many students this year have been using the Hookas outside in the mini-quad. Just for clarification, according to the email, the policy is that you can use the Hookas in the designated smoking areas, but they cannot be stored in your room.

In my opinion, the storage of the Hookas is silly. Looks like you better keep the Hooka in your car.

Different Students Living Environments

This is a photo essay I have created for our Journalism class. It is entitled "Different Students Living Environments." The photo captions can be found below the slide show. Enjoy.



Upperclassmen are always fighting over Centennial Suites during the housing lottery because of the spacious, apartment style rooms. Suites consist of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living area with refrigerator, microwave, and cabinets. Seen here are roommates (from left to right) Crystal Gant, Tina Calcagno, Melanie Bonifacio, Lisa Julkowski, Lindsey Trent, and Jane Killmar in their living area on Thursday night.

Junior Andrew Infanger resides on campus in a Mazuchelli Hall single. He has successfully converted this former convent room, into a messy, jam-packed, college dorm room, which he calls home. Andrew is seen here sitting at his computer desk on a normal Thursday night after returning from a midnight security shift.

Andrew’s room is jammed packed with his belongings, as everything from his bed to his sink is in one single room. His closet is large in comparison to other dorm rooms, but is no exception to the tight space. Storing his bike, clothing, shoes, and even extension cord there is not unusual to dorm living.

Opposite of Andrew’s cramped space, junior Lisanne Scannichio’s living area is very spacious. She rents out this home just past the CTA Green Line in Oak Park with her sister, who is also a college student at DePaul University. “I love my new home. I lived in the dorm the past few years and now I feel like I am finally on my own,” she said.

Inside Lisanne’s house there is plenty of living space with a large living room, full-size kitchen, two bathrooms, and two bedrooms. Pictured here is one section of her kitchen cabinets, which provides more than enough space for her snacks and supplies. Lisanne even has four empty shelves ready for the next time she goes grocery shopping.

Freshman students must adjust to sharing a small dorm room with a stranger as part of the “college experience”. First semester freshman roommates Marissa Surma and Amy Miller pose in their Power Hall double on Wednesday night. “Even though our room is small, I love having a new home away from home,” Surma said.

Unlike Scannichio’s large and part empty kitchen cabinets, Surma and Miller each have their own set of plastic food drawers. Shown here is Miller’s drawers complete with peanut butter, microwave soup, and dishes. As most of their meals are eaten in the cafeteria, they say this small space is adequate.

Junior Lauren Ruebe moved into her own apartment off of North Ave in Melrose Park on September 13, after she became unhappy because of the cramped and outdated living environment in Power Hall. According to Ruebe, the best part of her apartment is the bathroom because she does not have to share it. Ruebe is seen here putting on her make-up Tuesday morning before class.

Senior Dan Humphreys and Junior Andrew Bednarczyk share a dorm room on the second floor of Centennial Hall. Friday night they play a video game of Madden football on their XBOX 360, as they look in opposite directions. According to Bednarczyk, the XBOX 360 is an important element in their room.

Along with the XBOX 360, Humphreys and Bednarczyk say that another important element of their room is their two televisions. The spacious Centennial dorm room allows them to do this. “The best part is that we can watch the Cubs game and play video games at the same time,” Humphreys said.

Inside Mazzuchelli Hall

This is a photo essay assignment for my Convergent Journalism class. The photo slide show features pictures from the fourth floor of Mazzuchelli Hall, the new wing of residential rooms.

1. The hallway of Mazzuchelli -- a few feet away from the entrance to the new wing for resident students on a Saturday afternoon. While the inside of the rooms were completely renovated for students – the hallway has remained the same. According to Sr. Crapo, the fourth floor used to be one big room in 1922 before it was divided up into individual rooms for the sisters.

2. Valerie Antunes works on her list of internships that she plans to take over the summer on a Saturday afternoon. She lives in room 481 on the fourth floor of Mazzuchelli Hall. She says that the reason why she chose to live on Mazzuchelli was due to living at the Priory last year. She didn’t like having to rely on the shuttle to get to and from the Main Campus.

3. Room 460 resident Lia Rainey, senior, is fixing her diorama which she did “for the hell of it” She’s a Studio Art and Sculpture double major with an Art History minor. Her diorama is a compare and contrast between cubicle and landscape. She chose Mazzuchelli Hall because she liked how the rooms looked – i.e. the amount of wall space and the walk-in closet. Also, during the showing of rooms last spring, the sisters showed off the rooms, which Rainey appreciated. Since the sisters previously occupied the space, Rainey thought “it won’t be dirty” because of that.

4. Lia Rainey is surfing through facebook.com on her laptop Tuesday night after her night class. She is excited to find that some photos of her semester-long London trip (from August 2007 to December 2007) have been posted by fellow participants. Since she didn’t have a camera with her during the school Study Abroad trip, Rainey asked others to take pictures for her.

5. On a Tuesday night, Michelle Nowak, junior transfer student and room 477 resident, is showing a picture of her sister who she doesn’t see as often now that she’s at Dominican. She chose Mazzuchelli because she heard that Mazzuchelli Hall was going to be a new housing option. Nowak thought it would be interesting to live in Mazzuchelli. Due to the housing shortage and being a transfer (low priority on housing lottery list), she knew that her other option would be to live at the Priory. She’s grateful to get to live in Mazzuchelli and not have to commute from the Priory to Main Campus.

6. Michelle Nowak is holding a tag graffiti painting that her friend, Adam who is a tattoo artist, painted for her. He usually does tattoos, but Nowak encouraged him to do this painting. She likes to look at it during study breaks and try to find Adam’s name, which is hidden amongst all of the swirls in the painting. She also has a body tattoo of the cherry blossom on the painting.

7. The staircase leading down to the third floor of Mazzuchelli Hall. The sisters occupy the third and second floors of Mazzuchelli Hall. “We’re lucky we still have the Priory,” Sr. Jeanne Crapo, University Archivist, said. But this works out for the best since the number of sisters has been dwindling in recent years anyway. Currently, there are 16 sisters living on the second and third floors of the hall. Sr. Crapo currently lives on the second floor of Mazzuchelli Hall, but she has lived on the fourth floor as well. Last year, the fourth floor was divided up between faculty offices and rooms. With the addition of Parmer Hall, offices previously on the fourth floor have been moved to Parmer.

8. One of the main reasons why Lia Rainey chose Mazzuchelli is because she “loved the wall space”. The slanted ceiling offers plenty of wall space to put up postcard sized pictures, which were mostly bought from London during her Study Abroad trip there last year. She found the pictures in a shoebox at a London thrift store. Near the top is a map of London that Rainey used during her trip.

9. On a Saturday afternoon, the mirror in Lia Rainey’s room shows a glimpse of the green tapestry that she put up over her window at the beginning of the year. The room on the fourth floor did not have blinds on the windows at the start of the year, but recently Maintenance came in and inserted the blinds on to the windows. Rainey still keeps the tapestry over her window and admits she didn’t notice the blinds had been added until someone pointed it out to her.

10. There is an empty room in Mazzuchelli Hall that looks like it was used as a kitchen area at one point in time. There are some “tiny rooms” according to Sr. Crapo that are just too small, so they don’t end up being used at living spaces. Looking inside of the room, there were a lot of cabinets meant for food storage. It is surprising to see an empty room considering the housing shortage. The housing situation is getting worse considering this year’s freshman class has 418 freshman residents according to Donna Carroll, Dominican University president. Compared to 296 freshman residents for the class of 2009, this increase can not be overlooked.

The Cost of Campus Housing

I was recently looking at the prices of on campus housing on the Residence Life homepage and I noticed a problem. The housing cost for a Centennial Double for a freshman is $4,680, yet the same exact room for a returning student is $4,840. Is this just a typo or are we really paying more?

Avoid the Shuttle.

As we all know, or should know, Dominican offers a "courtesy shuttle service," which is very limited. It will bring you back and forth from the Priory and Main Campus, as well as take you to the CTA Green Line upon request, on the hour, after 7:00 p.m.

From my experiences, this is shuttle is not very reliable, which causes me to recommend avoiding the shuttle at all costs. If you expect to get anywhere on time, it is best to find your own transportation, especially in the evening. I really hate to turn students off from using the shuttle, as I am a security student worker, but I have seen first-hand how this is a "courtesy" yet unhelpful service.

Food court style dining?

Though it's still years from becoming a reality; there is a good chance that the DU dining experience will change in the near future. The change, according to Amy McCormack, is an expansion of the kitchen/dining area to allow for more space and have a more "food court style" sort of look.

Even with Chartwells coming as the new food service just last year and the new look; it's not the end for dining area improvements. I'm glad that the university is looking to further improve the dining facilities, though it's too bad that I won't be able to experience it myself. I do hope the expansion of the dining area does become a reality. Residents, the biggest group using the dining area on a frequent basis, have something to look forward to...

Housing - it may take a while

According to Amy McCormack, Senior Vice President for Administration and Business Affairs (at the last SGA meeting), on the Campus Master Plan; the housing situation will be alleviated through a new residence hall between 2012-2015. It's the third phase of the master plan and currently, the plan is in its updating phase (2008-2013). With Parmer Hall being a big part of the previous 5-year plan, the university is looking at what is the next step for the next five years. McCormack said that housing will be dealt with on a long-term and short-term basis; but with the housing shortage now - McCormack understands that the plan for housing "needs to be accelerated."

Since I'm a senior, this won't affect me and I'm glad I was able to get to live on the Main Campus during my four years here. But for freshmen, sophomores and juniors who plan to be residents next year and after that - the housing situation will only get worse. That's the way I see it. I mean, there are only so many options that are already available - how far can we stretch the available space on campus for rooms? Will the Bon Villa apartments become more successful over time?

This, of course, will all depend on future incoming classes and how many freshmen want to be residents...

This year's freshman class is the biggest yet. While this may be a good sign for university growth, it doesn't bode well for guaranteed housing on campus.

Text Message in an Emergency

At the last SGA meeting, Pamela Johnson, Vice President for Enrollment, went over the 2005 student satisfaction survey. An interesting thing to note was that the preferred mode of communication among residents in the case of an emergency was text message (36.2%). Email (28.2%) and broadcast voicemail messages (19%) came in second and third.

I think that this makes the most sense since text messages can be received the fastest with almost everyone these days owning a cell phone. Though for those who don't have cell phones, I think that voicemail through their room phone would be better. For me at least, I sometimes forget to check email, so an important emergency message may be missed if the student doesn't have immediate access to a computer or isn't in the habit of regularly checking their DU email.

According to Johnson, the crisis communication team is working on the technical issues with communicating with the entire Dominican community in the event of an emergency.

A Haunting Experience with CSA's Haunted Tours

Commuter Student Association will be hosting Haunted Tours (an annual event) in the spirit of Halloween. The Haunted Tours is a tour that students can go on throughout different parts of the school. The tour guide tells a ghost story connected with different areas or rooms around campus. The tours will take place on Thursday, October 30th. CSA is looking for assistance from anyone interested in helping out - just email them at csa@dom.edu for more details.

Video Gaming

After talking to a fellow resident student, the trend of video games on campus came to my attention. Many students on campus play video games in their free time, from the newest Playstation 3 consoles to the old-school Nintendo 64. Students even have the opportunity to play XBOX Live if they register their console with IT, but this can only be played on the weekends because it can slow down the Internet. Students Drew Bednarczyk and Dan Humphreys are shown here playing their XBOX live on a Friday night.

Unfair?

To follow up on the Homecoming Res Life issues, as I have been posting about, I want to share with you a complaint from my fellow classmate.

I was talking with my classmate today, who was very upset because she had gotten "written up" by Res Life for underage drinking, when she was not even present in the room. She lives in a Centennial Suite where her roommates were getting a bit rowdy, so she went into her single room and went to sleep. A few hours later the RAs came in and "wrote up" her roommates. Now, this morning she has also received an email saying that she has a conduct hearing for underage drinking.

Ultimately, she was not doing anything wrong, so is this fair that she got "written up"? Is the system flawed? Is this just a routine for RAs to accuse everyone who lives in the room?

Overboard?

When I walked into the residence halls on Saturday night I was bombarded by RA's. They surrounded the Coughlin Commons and even had an extra desk in front of Centennial. I understand it was the night of the Homecoming dance, but I still tend to think this is a little overboard. Many students go off campus because they know the policies are strictly enforced. Every RA was on Duty...but is this really necessary?

Showers on Power 2

Just going on Megan's posts about the showers in Mazzuchelli Hall - I just wanted to add that the Power 2 showers in the women's restroom (in the East Wing) have poor water pressure as well. Even though the Power 2 showers aren't new, that is still no excuse for the quality. I usually avoid taking a shower in Power 2 and go to Coughlin 2 instead. And it's not just the poor water pressure on Power 2, the water is cold as well. And no matter how you turn the dial, it's still one temperature: cold.

One weekday morning a few weeks ago, I took a shower there and I was worried I'd catch a cold (after I just got over one). Maybe if I waited for about 15 mins. or so, it would have warmed up? Though that is the common rule of thumb among residents, it doesn't help when you're in a rush (which I was that morning).

So new or old -- it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Homecoming Res Life Policies

I made a post last week about the Homecoming residence hall policies. I thought I would follow-up with details. More information can be found at the Residence Life website.

Quiet Hours:
Friday, Oct 3 12 a.m. - 7 a.m.
Saturday, Oct 4 2 a.m. - 7 a.m.

Under 21 Alcohol Policy:
If all assigned residents to a residence hall room are under 21, the possession or consumption of alcohol is prohibited within that room at all times regardless of the age of any guest. Further, any person (student or guest) under 21 may not be present in a room where alcohol is being consumed, unless it is the student’s place of residence.

See my pain...

I just wanted to follow-up to the last post with a visualization of the Mazzuchelli showers, so everyone can see my pain. This is what happens when you turn the hot water on in both of our two new showers. How is anyone supposed to shower here?