WOMAN: All right, everyone. I think we are ready to
begin. I’m sure you’re all excited to start your university career this fall,
and I know I speak on behalf of the entire university faculty and staff in
expressing how much we look forward to welcoming you to campus.
As
the University Housing Director, I’d like to use a few minutes of your
orientation session this morning to talk about the excellent student
accommodation available to you. We know that you are trying to decide where to
live during your first year of residency, and hopefully this information will
be helpful. But, uh, please do, um, hold off your questions until the end.
So,
undergraduates at our university have three basic accommodation options. You
can live in a residence hall, in on-campus housing, or in off-campus housing.
The only difference between on-campus and off-campus housing is, well, whether
the building falls within the campus boundaries. I’m sure you figured that out
already! But both options are privately owned residences that are rented out to
students. You can browse the rentals directory on our university website, under
the student accommodation section. You’ll see a tab for “rentals,” so just
click that.
But
I want to talk about the residence halls today. There’s nothing wrong with
renting an apartment or house, but in my opinion, residence hall life is a
really important part of the university experience for first-year students.
Residence halls offer a supportive, safe and social environment in which to
transition into university life. Each of our seven residence halls has 24-hour
security and in-house support staff, so any problems are dealt with
immediately. As well, access to the residence halls is strictly limited to
registered inhabitants, with a no-guest policy. This may seem excessive, but
the safety of students truly is our top priority.
So
safety...but also comfort. Come take a tour of one of our halls sometime and
you’ll be impressed with just how open the rooms feel. A single-occupancy is
only 225 square feet, and a double only 300 square feet, but they really do
feel much larger! Rooms come furnished with beds, desks, storage shelves, and a
wardrobe, but you can buy other items at any of the several used furniture
shops on or, or near campus.
We
do, of course, understand that being cooped up in a room all the time is hardly
ideal, which is why the residence halls include several common areas for
student use. There’s a lounge, a study room, a kitchen, and a very basic health
centre. All of these facilities are open round-the-clock, and can be accessed
with your room key. You can even reserve the lounge for an event or party, free
of charge...but of course there are rules you’ll have to follow.
Um,
anyway, that’s enough about the structure of the residence halls. What’s more
important is the social aspect of living there. Each hall accommodates over 500
students, and more than half of them are freshmen. As I’m sure you can imagine,
this creates an incredibly social environment where networks and communities
are established, and where lifelong friendships are formed. And we try to
encourage resident interaction through extra-curricular activities for our
residents. For example, each hall has its own sports teams, and they even compete with teams from other halls during organized matches. Nothing like teamwork to bring people
closer, right?
Lastly,
I’d like to emphasize that residence halls are quite an affordable option as
well. You can find reasonable rentals too, but you can’t always guarantee the
quality of the place. With residence halls, you can. You are ensured clean,
well-maintained, and fully functional accommodation.
Well
now...have I sold you on our residence halls? I sure hope so. And with the
little time we have left, I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.