Introduction to Ohio University

A home away from home

By choosing to attend Ohio University, you've chosen to live on one of only four public senior residential campuses in the state of Ohio. (And in our unbiased opinion, you've chosen the best.) Being a residential campus means that OU is a self-sustaining environment--a whole new world of experiences waiting for you to explore.

At OU, we believe that "going away to college" includes more than academics and studying. It should also mean having an environment that is most conducive to your growth as a person--intellectually, physically, socially, and spiritually. Living on a residential campus means that you are now part of a community of peers with whom you can exchange ideas, form study groups, strike up new friendships, and have fun.

You will find that most of your living mates are in the same boat as you. For some, it is the first time living away from home. Some may feel excited, some a bit anxious. But whatever you're feeling, isn't it great to know that there are others who feel the same? Not only does OU provide you with a safe, clean, and enjoyable environment in which to live, it provides you with a support network of peers, staff, and faculty you aren't likely to find anywhere else.

Little greens in the foothills

Before deciding on where to live, it is important to get a feel for the lay of the land. Nestled in the foothills of Appalachia, the Ohio University campus is divided into "greens." The East, West, and South Greens all have first-year and upperclass residence halls, vending areas, and laundry facilities. The North and College Greens accommodate academic and administrative buildings. All of our residential greens are equally accessible to the university's recreational and academic facilities. The inside back cover shows the layout of each green, along with the buildings and their living environments.

A dining hall is located on each green (East Green has two), with food service available three times daily Monday through Saturday and twice on Sunday. Each green has lounge and study areas and TV rooms, and some have recreational space and computer labs for resident use. Every room is cable ready and has a campus telephone; there is no additional charge for cable or local phone service.

No matter which of the greens you choose, it's generally no more than a 10- to 12-minute walk to the opposite end of the campus. In other words, you've got time to get where you're going between classes.

Home is where your hat is

Okay, so now you've got a feel for what a "green" is, but what about a place to hang your hat?

Room sizes vary from hall to hall, but generally there are four types of rooms: singles, doubles, triples, and quads. Because not all halls have all sizes of rooms, you may need to decide between location and room type. But keep in mind that certain room styles fill up quickly, so it is important that you return your acceptance agreement as soon as possible. Assignments are based on the date we receive your acceptance agreement, with preference given to returning residents.

Special program housing

Certain halls on the residential greens have been designated special program halls. Special program halls include scholastic emphasis housing, smoke-free buildings, the Honors Tutorial College hall, the International House, and halls for graduate and older students.

Halls designated as having a scholastic emphasis have an additional importance placed on quiet hours, with a 24-hour policy in place. In these halls, the right to study and rest takes precedence over everything else. All scholastic emphasis halls are coed, and many incorporate a mix of first-year and upperclass students.

Hoover House, located on New South Green, is the Honors Tutorial College residence hall. It is open to first-year and upperclass students who have been accepted into that college. Some students who wish to live in a scholastic emphasis hall may be considered for this hall as well.

Smoke-free vs. smoking permitted

A smoke-free building on campus is just that. No smoking or burning incense is permitted in the building. All other buildings have smoke-free floors where the same guidelines for smoke-free buildings apply. On the floors where smoking is permitted, the residents of each room must decide whether smoking will be allowed in the room or not. All room doors must be closed if an individual is smoking in the room. Ohio University cannot refuse to allow a smoker to live in a smoke-free area or building. However, if a student chooses to live in a smoke-free area then he or she must abide by the regulations governing that area.

Shively Hall is the International House. Located on East Green, it is dedicated to promoting cultural diversity and awareness. Sharing customs and traditions is typical among residents, and hall programs include workshops and presentations covering current world events. All students--male and female, first-year to graduate--are welcome to live in this hall.

There are rooms on each green for students with physical disabilities. If you require such accommodations or would like more information, contact the Office of Institutional Equity at 740-593-2620.

 

East Green Halls

The East Green is located--you guessed it--on the eastern portion of campus, closest to the College of Education, Department of Mathematics, and the Schools of Music and Art. In addition to a computer lab, small study library, and dining halls in Jefferson and Shively, there are a laundry center, vending area, game room, and weight room under Gamertsfelder Hall. The green radio station, WLHD, is in Lincoln Hall. There are basketball courts behind McCracken Hall and a centrally located courtyard for other outdoor activities.

Special program halls on East Green include the International House (Shively Hall), scholastic emphasis halls (Biddle for first-year students and Scott Quadrangle and Bryan Hall for upperclass students), and smoke-free buildings (Biddle, Tiffin, and Lincoln for first-year students and Lincoln and Perkins for upperclass students).

 

West Green Halls

The West Green is located closest to many of the athletic facilities and the Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Health and Human Services, and Engineering and Technology. A dining hall, West Nest (a large study room), and a computer lab are located in Boyd Hall along with WONE, the West Green radio station. A large recreation area is located in the basement of Ryors Hall.

West Green has the largest of the university's residence halls, James Hall, and the Convocation Center, a coed hall made up of quads. The resident rooms in the Convo, a circular building, were built to ensure student privacy from the basketball arena in the center. West Green laundry centers are located in the Convo and Treudley Hall.

All West Green halls are wired for ethernet connectivity and the Convocation Center is the designated smoke-free building.

 

South Green Halls

The South Green is located close to the Departments of Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics and Astronomy. It is also closest to the new Ping Recreation Center and the university golf course. South Green is unique in that it is divided into two sections: Old South and New South. The halls on Old South Green include Crawford, Pickering, Brown, and Mackinnon. All four halls house first-year men and women, and are composed mostly of double, triple, and quad rooms, with a limited number of singles. There are study lounges on every floor.

Special program halls on New South Green include Wray House and Ewing House, two upperclass halls designated for scholastic emphasis. Hoover House is for Honors Tutorial College students, and Brough House accommodates graduate and undergraduate students who are at least 21 years old. The Atkinson complex houses first-year students and upperclass students together. Smoke-free buildings on New South are Weld and Atkinson for upperclass students and Pickering and Atkinson for first-year students.

The South Green radio station, WSGR, is located in O'Bleness House. There is also a computer room in Brough House with IBM and Macintosh computers. Another unique feature of South Green is its central mail room and dining hall, located in Nelson Commons. All halls are connected to one another and to Nelson Commons by a series of catwalks. Laundry facilities are available in every South Green building, and laundry centers are located in Old South buildings and in Dougan on New South.

Familiar faces...

Residence Life staff members are not your parents away from home, but they are familiar faces--friendly, helpful, and approachable. The Residence Life staff is a mix of professionals, graduate students, and undergraduate students who can help you make the transition from home to university living and provide you with personal, social, and academic referrals. More than 225 trained staff members are assigned to our residence halls to assist you and your peers in developing a community.

Resident assistants (RAs) are graduate and undergraduate students appointed to floor sections within each residence hall. Resident directors (RDs) are full-time professionals who supervise one to four residence halls. An assistant director (AD) of residence life lives on each green and oversees the staff on that green. Residence Life informs you of residence hall programs and policies, and hosts educational programs each quarter on such topics as study skills, managing stress, and time management.

To supplement campus police, student security aides patrol residential greens on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. And so you don't have to walk alone at night, Campus Escort Service is only a phone call away. An escort will meet you anywhere on campus to walk or drive you back to your hall.

All rooms come equipped with standard furniture: beds, desks and chairs, lounge chairs, and dresser and closet space. (Most New South Green rooms have a combination dresser and desk, allowing for maximum floor space.) All windows have blinds and curtain rods except those on New South Green, which have curtains. You should also keep in mind that storage space is minimal and all suitcases, trunks, and footlockers must be clearly marked with your name, room number, and home address. Summer storage is available only on a limited basis. Ohio University does not assume responsibility for lost or stolen items.

Lofts are permitted, but all university furniture must remain in the room and the loft must meet Ohio University loft construction guidelines. Please check with Residence Life before purchasing a loft; some rooms with dormered ceilings will not accommodate lofts.

We recommend that before packing up all your reminders of home, you bring only the essentials with you at first and fill in where needed later.

...familiar places

Not all housing preferences can be honored, but the sooner you return your acceptance agreement, the better chance you'll have at getting one of your choices. Many students return their agreement in late February or early March. If you have a change of heart on a choice after you've sent in your acceptance agreement, please submit your change request to Housing in writing. All changes must be submitted by early July before assignments are finalized. Students with special medical needs will be given consideration whenever possible; please make a note on your acceptance agreement and return it with a letter from your physician. All letters are held in confidence.

Got a roommate already in mind? Great! It helps us out if you and your roommate return your acceptance agreements in the same envelope. But if that's not possible, we'll still do our best to put you together. We also try to honor requests for smoking and nonsmoking roommates. Ohio University is an equal opportunity institution and therefore will not make room assignments based on race, creed, color, or national origin.

You can rank up to five room types, and we suggest that you do since that will help us with the selection process. Keep in mind that the availability of single and quad rooms is very limited on some greens, and triple rooms for upperclass students are also very limited. Refer to the inside back cover for the type of rooms and living environments available in each hall. Be sure we have what you are asking for; certain living environments are not available on all greens. (For fall contracts, room assignments will be mailed in late July.)

Apartment housing is available on campus only for graduate students, married students, and students with children. A separate application for apartment housing is available from Housing. If you need one, let us know. Because of the delay in overseas mail, international students should return their acceptance agreement immediately with a $1200 deposit. This will ensure that a room is held for you until noon of the first day of classes for fall quarter.

Room service

If you like having fresh bed linens on a weekly basis whether you make it to the laundry or not, the university's linen service can provide you with two flat sheets and a pillow case per week.

Public areas, hallways, and bathrooms are cleaned regularly by housekeeping staff. Cleaning your room is up to you.

All residence hall rooms have a telephone installed, with no monthly charge for local calls. To make long-distance calls, you can request a long-distance calling authorization number from Communication Network Services in Scott Quad. You can also make calling-card and collect calls from your room phone.

Mail is delivered to all residence halls Monday through Saturday. You and your roommates will be assigned a mail box and a box key--in other words, there's one mailbox per room. If you want to send a parcel by Express Mail, UPS, or some other special delivery, you can go to the Athens post office or to other sending centers around town.

We want you to think of Ohio University as your home--and, like any other home, it requires sharing and getting along with others. Visitation is permitted in resident rooms, although visitation hours are limited during fall quarter in first-year halls. Residents vote on the visitation policy the hall will follow for the remaining two quarters. There are no room visitation restrictions for upperclass and graduate halls, although cohabitation is not permitted.

Specific ground rules concerning visitation within your room are something you and your roommates will have to decide. Finding a balance between the right to privacy and the need to socialize can be tough. Should you need a hand, Residence Life staff members are available to help you and your roommates work things out.

All residence halls observe quiet-hour policies Sunday through Thursday. During final exam weeks, a 24-hour quiet policy is enforced. Some halls have study lounges or areas where a quiet-hour policy is expected.

See the Student Handbook, the housing acceptance agreement, and Residence Life staff for other policies.

Ohio University's four dining halls--Boyd, Nelson, Shively, and Jefferson--provide an array of tasty and nutritious foods served on a student-friendly schedule. You can choose a traditional meal plan that provides 7, 14, or 20 meals a week, or the more flexible Green Card meal plan. For more information on dining options, see the food services brochure Food for Thought.

One more thing

Parking. It's practically a competitive sport in most college towns--and that's certainly true of Athens. Parking places are few and far between, both on and off campus. Because of this limitation, first-year students are not permitted to register a vehicle on campus.

All other student and guest vehicles must be registered with the Department of Campus Safety. Parking is restricted to specific areas. Limited parking beneath certain residence halls is available during the academic year; these spaces are sold to current residence hall students during the spring quarter for the upcoming fall term.

The Neighbors Up the Street

At Ohio University, we refer to downtown Athens as "Uptown"--maybe because no matter where you live on campus, you'll probably have to go up a hill to get to the heart of town. Once you're there, though, you'll find a number of shops, stores, and restaurants to meet most of your needs, all within walking distance.

Two small shopping malls and two major supermarkets are located on the far east side of town on East State Street. Although it's a bit too far to walk, Athens Community Transit provides convenient bus transportation to East State and all over town.

Numerous places of worship in Athens and the surrounding area provide a variety of religious communities and experiences.

 

A place to call your home

Think you might like living here?

We happen to love it here, but don't let our unbiased opinion sway you. Come see for yourself. If you haven't already, take a tour of Ohio University. Talk with faculty, staff, and students, walk through the buildings, soak up the atmosphere--let the campus speak for itself.

Once you're here and old OU begins to work its bobcat magic, we think it might even be a place that you'll want to call home.

 

Campus offices you may wish to reach:

740-593-4100 Admissions
740-593-1174 Athletics
740-593-4130 Bursar
740-593-4040 Campus Escort Service
740-593-2620 Disability Services
740-593-4141 Financial Aid and Scholarships
740-593-2970 Food Service
740-593-4090 Housing
740-593-4330 International Student Services
740-593-4027 Multicultural Programs
740-593-1911 Ohio University Police Department
740-593-4191 Registrar
740-593-4095 Residence Life
740-593-4025 Student Activities
740-593-1000 University Switchboard

 Ohio University Front Door


This file (http://www.ohiou.edu/about/index.html)
was revised September 11, 1998 by Tasha Attaway

E-mail comments and suggestions to unirel@www.ohiou.edu

Copyright ©1994-98 Ohio University

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