As Students Move in, They ll Find Lots of Changes

Click here to see a slideshow of UC's 2007 Helping Hands volunteers

Classes for the University of Cincinnati’s autumn quarter get underway on Sept. 19. As students move into the residence halls on Sept. 14 and 15, they’ll find hundreds of UC volunteers who will help with directions and push moving carts.

UC’s Housing & Food Services reports that housing filled quickly to 3,230-bed maximum capacity over the summer as UC prepared for its largest-ever freshman class on the Uptown campus. Move-in begins on Friday, Sept. 14, at 10 a.m. Peak times for the crowds are expected between 10 a.m.-noon.

Residence Hall Openings

Friday, Sept. 14
10 a.m.

– Campus Recreation Center (CRC), Turner and Schneider Halls and Siddall Hall

A new move into the University of Cincinnati residence halls this fall virtually cuts the cord on the landline. UC Mobile – a partnership between the university’s information technology unit, UCit and Cincinnati Bell – is providing a free, pre-paid wireless phone to students moving into the residence halls.

As parents and students haul their loaded vehicles to campus, hundreds of UC volunteers will help. Todd Duncan, director of UC Housing & Food Services, reports 200 faculty, staff and administrators will participate in the seventh-annual Helping Hands program that exemplifies UC|21 goals of placing students at the center of the university. The volunteers will push moving carts, provide directions and offer cool drinks of water to the students who work up a sweat during the move-in.

Dawn Wilson, director of UC Resident Education & Development, adds that approximately 175 student volunteers moved into the residence halls early so that they could greet their peers and assist as members of the Hall Opening Team, a residence hall tradition that is now in its 15th year.

As students move in, Resident Education & Development’s annual Move-in Against Hunger invites students to contribute non-perishable food items at collection bins in the residence hall lobbies. The food drive, one of UC’s Just Community events, brings in several hundred pounds of food each year for the FreeStore Foodbank in Over-the-Rhine.

New special-interest living quarters are building living and learning communities on and near campus, exemplifying UC|21 actions to build 24-hour-a-day learning, living and social environments. A new Peace Village opens on the fifth-floor of Dabney Hall for as many as 100 students who share an interest in promoting social justice. Peace Village advisor Steve Sunderland, a professor for the Division of Educational Studies and Leadership for the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH), says this living community is an extension of a program supported by UC’s Just Community initiative to practice civility and social action. Sunderland says students who share a passion for reducing city hunger, building interfaith communication and working toward inclusion can now learn, live and work together on this Peace Village floor in Dabney Hall.

The UC

Center for Community Engagement

(CCE), now housed at the university-affiliated Stratford Heights Community on Clifton Avenue, invited students who shared an interest in volunteering to move onto two floors of suite-style housing located above the CCE office, which coordinates service opportunities in the community with students and faculty. “We are hoping this living community builds service-leadership among our students,” says CCE Director Kathy Dick. “It’s the same philosophy that we have with our community partners – give them a voice and collectively, we can identify creative new ways of improving the quality of life for all.”

The CCE-housing holds a kitchen, dining area, TV lounge, study and laundry room. Incoming UC freshman Allison Ng says she’s looking forward to moving into the 24-bed CCE living quarters. “Just from my experience in being active in community service in high school, I really enjoyed meeting new people and working with people from different backgrounds from my own. My volunteer service has helped me appreciate what I have even more,” says the Cincinnatus and Turner scholarship recipient.

William Parr, general manager for the Stratford Heights Community, adds that a new 24-bed house opening this fall at Stratford Heights for College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) students holds six high-demand sound-proof practice rooms in the basement.

Parr says nearly 90-percent of the housing at Stratford Heights is filled this fall. The university-affiliated and privately operated University Park apartments  – the upper section of the development that encompasses the Calhoun Street Garage – are at 100 percent capacity.

Other Community-Themed Floors Located in UC Residence Halls

Calhoun Hall

• Floors eight, 10 and 11 (approximately 180 beds) offer living quarters for men in engineering, pre-engineering or engineering technology programs.

Dabney Hall

• Floor five creates the new Peace Village for students dedicated to social justice.
• Floor six provides a living and learning community for students majoring in the College of Applied Science (CAS).

Daniels Hall

• Floors three and four house students accepted into the University Honors program for academically talented students, as well as students in the UC College of Business Carl H. Lindner Honors-PLUS program to build future business leaders.
• Floor six is a special-interest floor geared toward students who have not declared a major.
• Floor nine is a living community for students in health professions programs such as nursing, pre-pharmacy or pre-medicine.
• Floors seven and eight are open to as many as 188 students majoring in the top-ranked College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP).

Siddall Hall

• Floors one through four are open to students majoring in the College-Conservatory of Music.
• Floors seven and eight are open to students majoring in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services.
• Floor 10 provides a living and learning community for women either majoring or pre-majoring in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) fields.

Turner Hall

• Floors one through five house suites for students accepted into the University Honors program as well as students in the UC College of Business Carl H. Lindner Honors-PLUS program.

UC Housing & Food Services
Web site: http://www.uc.edu/housing/
Phone: 513-556-6461

UC Resident Education & Development
Web site: http://www.uc.edu/resed/
Phone: 513-556-6476

Stratford Heights Affiliated Housing
Web site: http://www.stratfordheights.com
Phone: 513-558-7000

University Park Affiliated Housing
Web site: http://www.aoinc.com/proppages/?property=22
Phone: 513-558-3000

Other Back-to-School News:

UC Welcomes a Record Freshman Class, Booming Enrollment

UC Begins Classes on Sept. 19 With Record Freshman Class

UC Reports Significant Increase in Distance Learners

Smooth Opening Expected in Parking, Traffic for UC Students

Student Safety Continues to Be a High Priority Item in UC Planning

UC Mobile’s Moving Into the Residence Halls

VIDEO: Big Crowds Expected for Sunday Convocation

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