WATCH: Crowds of Bearcats Move to Campus Aug. 21-22

The cars, luggage and laundry baskets will be lining the streets around the University of Cincinnati’s campus on Aug. 21-22, as thousands of students begin moving in to the residence halls in advance of the first day of classes on Aug. 26.

Residence Hall Openings

(Peak crowds expected between 10 a.m. and noon)

Wednesday, Aug. 21, 10 a.m.

– Calhoun Hall, Dabney Hall, Morgens Hall, Turner Hall, Schneider Hall and Stratford Heights Complex

Thursday, Aug. 22, 10 a.m.

– Campus Recreation Center, Daniels Hall, Siddall Hall

View a Map of West Campus

UC’s housing capacity this fall is 4,676. UC Housing and Food Services this summer arranged to lease 142 beds at University Park Apartments and 82 beds at Campus Park Apartments (formerly known as Sterling McMillan) to accommodate the demand for campus housing.

Fall semester also welcomes students into the

$35 million renovation to Morgens Hall

, as students move into housing that is now enclosed in 2,000 panels of glass, all designed to save energy.

Hundreds of faculty, staff and administrators will help students move in as part of the 13th annual Helping Hands program. The move also includes around 375 student volunteers representing Resident Education and Development’s Hall Opening Team (HOT). Those volunteers get to move back to campus a week early to help their peers move in to the residence halls.

Other Residence Hall Renovation Updates

Mattresses were replaced in Calhoun and Turner Halls over the summer at a cost of around $150,000. The seamless mattresses are a continuing trend in residence halls to eliminate hiding places for bedbugs. Siddall Hall had its roof replaced over the summer at a total cost of $600,000.

Convertible Furniture

A new

dresser-desk combination

designed by UC staff is drawing attention from other universities as they strive to create space in student housing.

New and Expanded Living and Learning Communities

UC has approximately 25 themed student housing communities among its residence hall floors and the Stratford Heights Complex. New additions for fall include:

TAP House 

– A new UC student housing community opening this fall in the Stratford Heights Complex exemplifies UC’s dedication to increasing diversity on campus. The 26-bed TAP House, located at 2629 Clifton Ave., will be a blended community of six students reflecting UC’s general student population, and 13 students in the Transition and Access Program (TAP)— a non-degree, four-year program for students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities that provides opportunities to engage in the college experience. 

Students move in to the TAP House beginning at 1 p.m., Monday, Aug. 19.

iHouse

– The new iHouse under the coordination of UC International and UC Housing is a living and learning community for students from around the world. Located in the Stratford Heights Complex, the iHouse this fall will hold a total of 34 international exchange students and degree-seeking students from 11 different countries: Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Gen-1 Theme House Expansion

– UC’s living and learning community for first-generation college students has garnered national attention for building on the success of a student population at high risk for dropping out of college. The community continues to grow with the addition of a living and learning community for juniors and seniors. The

Gen-1 Community

is now spread through three buildings in the Stratford Heights Complex, with as many as 78 students – including 39 freshmen – expected to move in this fall.  Another 20-24 juniors and seniors, who successfully completed the Gen-1 experience as freshmen, will continue as active program participants in the Gen-1 non-residential component.

Sustainability Programs

UC launches a

pilot program to begin composting food waste at its residential restaurant

, MarketPointe@Sidall, this fall. The Ohio EPA and Hamilton County Solid Waste & Recycling District have contributed grant money to help UC’s Dining Services, Facilities Management and Office of Sustainability kick off the program that is designed to keep 100 percent of MarketPointe’s pre- and post-consumer food waste out of the landfill.

UC’s Housing & Food Services and Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center also report they will continue their partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden to compost used coffee grounds from campus Starbucks, hotel and café locations. Last year, more than 12,000 pounds were provided for composting at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

Also, after seeking input from students, UC Dining Services is working toward eliminating Styrofoam cartons as to-go containers. Stadium View Café, which introduced its “to go” program in 2011, will now provide reusable containers at no cost to meal plan holders. Students can bring back their used container and receive a clean container for their next meal-on-the-go.

All combined, UC’s MarketPointe, CenterCourt and Stadium View restaurants serve more than 1.15 million meals a year.