We’re working under some constraints and greatly appreciate your patience.

Once you get your assignment, feel free to check out room dimensions on our website. 

It is very important that you complete the Housing Information form.  We use this information to make housing assignments.   Please do not let a family member or friend complete the form. 

Rhodes houses students in double and triples.  We even have a few quads (groups of four) for first year students.

Factors we look at in making housing assignments:

Roommate requests:  This must be a mutual selection.  Each person must select the other.  Please talk about theme housing and/or learning community interest as well as co-ed or single gender housing.  You may request up to two roommates.

Learning Communities.  Rhodes is offering five learning communities based on academic course work.  You will have an opportunity to sign up for these different environments during Open Rhodes.  Learning Communities will be housed in co-ed environments. 

Theme housing:  If you are interested in theme housing, please mark it.  We will work to accommodate this request.  Theme housing options include: Substance free, quiet study, and restricted visitation. Every year we hear complaints about folks being assigned to theme housing when they did not want it.  Well, yes you did. Or least the information we received noted that you want theme housing (remember you should be completing the housing information form) 

Athletic Coaches will often assign players together. 

Potluck vs. self-selecting a roommate.   The majority of incoming students do not select a roommate prior to coming to Rhodes.  Some meet folks during Open Rhodes Orientation while others may meet folks on Facebook.  If you do wish to denote a roommate after you submitted your housing information form, please have all parties notes this on the Housing information form or contact Marianne via email at lutherm@rhodes.edu. All roommate requests must be submitted by July 14. 

We spend time reading each Housing Information form and take into consideration the above factors.  Ultimately, we try to match people up with folks who share at least a few similar traits. Since Rhodes attracts students from all over the country as well as the world.  We also look at geographic diversity as well.   We try not to match up folks from Texas together or folks from Tennessee together, etc. 

We do our best to make good groupings but we understand that each person is more than what can be represented on a piece of paper.   Each student brings different experiences, perspectives, and expectations.  The key is to remain open and flexible as well as work on communication.   I will have more about keys to a successful roommate situation, next week.

Our goal is to have housing assignments in the mail by July 21st.  This gives you less than month to contact your roommates to discuss items to bring, living habits, etc.   

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Thanks,
Marianne

In addition to that, we’re planning RA Training for the fall.  I also work with organizing the events for The Big Diehl, which has a fall schedule that will be better than ever!  In addition, we’re working to revamp our website to include more information for the students and their parents.  So, if you have ideas about what we should add or edit, please let me know.  Before long, Marianne will start to work on making roommate matches and room assignments for the first year students.  And, before any of us realizes, we’ll be in August and welcoming RAs back to campus and getting ready for the arrival and return of the students.

And, for now, I’m getting ready to go on a summer vacation to the great state of North Carolina.  I’m really excited to be able to spend some quality time with my family.  And, I’ll be there for the 4th of July, which means that I get to go to the best small-town parade ever in Oakboro, NC.  Here are some pictures from past years:

Today, we’re receiving new furniture for residence halls of Neely, Spann and VoTo.  The Physical Plant does a great job at keeping our furniture updated and replaced as needed.  This new furniture will allow the residents of those building the flexibility of have their beds raised so that they have plenty of storage area.  There are some other renovations going on throughout the residence halls that we’ll talk about as the summer progresses.  For now, let us know if you have any burning residence life questions! 

In a sad note, we’ll soon say goodbye to our two Assistant Directors, Khorey Baker and Antonio Jenkins.  Khorey and Antonio have served at Rhodes for the past two academic years and will be greatly missed!

On the other hand, there are some students that I am very sad to see go as I have valued their opinions, shared their struggles and celebrated their successes.  I wish them the best of luck in their next adventure as I know they will go on to continue making a positive impact in and on the world. 

Spring Semester Move out!

Students should plan to pack up and leave 24 hours after their last final.  Residence Halls officially close on May 5^th at 10am.  Only graduating students, summer housing residents and those who have secured permission are permitted to stay.  Halls close for everyone except summer housing residents on May 11^th at noon.  

Room keys can be return to your RA or to the Express Check out box located near the mailroom in Briggs.   All returning students should hang on to their mailbox key and fob.  Graduating seniors and transferring students need to return your fob and mailbox key. Mailroom keys need to be return directly to the mailroom.  Please do return these items as key fob replacement is $25 while a new room key is $10.

Please be kind to your RA and housekeeping staff by bagging up your trash. There are several dumpsters available to take trash.  Unwanted (but still in good condition) items can be donated to MIFA.  Please look for collection boxes.   East Village residents are required to clean their apartments.  Please follow up with your RA if you have not received an apartment cleaning check list.

Aramark wants their stuff back!  If you have ‘borrowed’ a spoon or a cup from the RAT, please plan on returning it.  RAs will have boxes outside their doors.  

The goal is to leave the room in the same condition as you found it.  RAs will be through to complete the room condition reports.  They will note any damage, abandon furniture, blocks or trash left in the room.  Charges will be posted to student accounts at the end of the month.

Please remember that we are in 24 hour quiet hours.

Good luck with your finals!

Marianne

So yesterday was my 21st birthday. Wow, I’m really getting up there y’all. So I woke up on my birthmorn, and can someone tell me why I had body pain? I hopped out the bed and limped all the way over to the bathroom. What a shame. I feel old y’all. I took some All Day Strong, All Day Long medicine. Lol. If you haven’t gotten me a gift yet, which I am still accepting by the way, I would like a cane and one of those walker things with the wheels.

Yesterday was the best day ever…not only am I so blessed and thankful to be alive, but clearly, there are a lot of people on campus who feel the same. I got birthday wishes from not only close friends, but my residents and even those who served my food at the RAT. 

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I feel so special. I feel like birthdays are the best days of the year. You get to celebrate your birth and you get to see just how many people really appreciate you. My mommy ordered me a fruit “flower” arrangement. The pic is below. It was the most lovely, tasty thing I’ve ever received.

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THANKS MOM! I celebrated my birth by baking myself a cake; a couple hours later, I was surprised by my good dance team friends, Caralee Barrett and Amber James, who came by with little Debbie cakes and candles (unlit of course hehe) at the 12 o clock hour. I planned on lots of events for my birthweek, but I am realizing that sadly my birthweek falls on a week where people are not only finishing up with classes, but studying for finals. Poopy. It sucks… but I had a great birtheve. I spent some time with my residents and some who I have raised under my bosom like Brittany Erwin and Chenice Anthony. It was awesome. I freakin’ love spending time in the social room because there I can relax and really chat it up with my residents. I never want my residents to just know me on a policy-enforcing level. I want them to know me as a friend, and just like I told one of my residents the other day, I want her to feel free coming and talking to me next year when I am not an RA, because my residents are my friends!

Speaking of my residents, they freakin’ rock. They got me a card for my birthday and wrote really nice things about how much they appreciated me as their RA. That really touched my heart. I feel like there are too few times that RAs are recognized for all the work they do and all that they sacrifice to be an RA, and it’s nice to hear it every once in a while. I am just so blessed to have such a great group of girls (HOLLA 1st FLOOR ROBINSON!) and a wonderful housekeeper (YAYAH MS. ALMA) and a Great and Mighty God who has given me all these things and blessed me more than I could have ever imagined! I could shout on that!

Anywho, so finals week is approaching. I have a few tips I would like to offer.

1. Don’t freak out. Remain calm. Study hard but play hard as well. Don’t take this the wrong way. It’s important to study but not the whole day.
2. Schedule “you” time. Ladies, go get your nails done. Let your hair down. Go lay out (with the proper level of sunscreen of course). Gentlemen, get your game on…play a little sports, get your mind off of things.
3. Appreciate and uplift your friends. You and those whom you care about are going through the same crap. Uplift each other. For instance, my amazing friend Caralee asked if I wanted to go swimming today. She knows how busy we both are, but she wanted us to have some “girl” time. Also, my stupendous friend Sarah Barowka is amazing for many reasons but mostly because she understands the value of “me” time. We are both very busy, but we always take time to go eat with each other and just relax.
4. Start packing. Y’all. 24 hours after your last exam, you have to be out of the dorms. Soooo you should get started packing. Consult your RA for more information.
5. Last, but not least, enjoy life! You could die tomorrow…I mean, I hate to be so somber, but it could happen. So tell the people you love how much you really love them.

The Summer Housing Application is now on-line.  Just click the link and fill out the information.  The sooner you do this, the more likely you are to secure a spot on campus for the summer.  Space is limited.

Students who are participating in RIRS, SSF or St. Jude’s Summer Plus, in addition to students who are doing research with professors, will be housed in East Village B.  All other students will be housed in Voorhies.

If you are planning on staying on campus from the end of finals into the first “month” of summer housing, then you are allowed to stay in your current room (understanding that you must have completed a Summer Housing Application) until the weekend of May 16-18.  During that weekend, you’ll move into your room for the summer.

 Please let me know if you have any questions about summer housing. 

 All told we housed 823 students.  Now I recognize that there may be some folks who are not happy with their room selection or they were not able to select the type of room or the building they wanted, please know that there is a waitlist.  If you are interested in having your name added to the waitlist, please let me know lutherm@rhodes.edu. Please let me know the room type (double, single) or building you are interested.   At this point, I do not know how many spaces will open up but I have learned that anything is possible.  Students decide to live off campus, study abroad or transfer all summer long.  There is a lot of time between now and August to work things out. 

 The housing assignments process for incoming students is very different.   All incoming students are asked to complete a Housing Information Form which asks about living and study habits as well as what you are involved in, goals, plans for your time at Rhodes and what you are looking for in a roommate.  Please be honest with this info and do not permit your mom or dad to complete the form.   If you already know who you want to live with, please write your intended roommat(s) name on the sheet.  Please make sure, they do the same.    

We use this information to create roommate matches.  First year students are housed in doubles and triples.  All of our single room spaces have been selected by upper-class students so first year students are not assigned to a single unless there is a disability accommodation that needs to be made.    More about this process to come in future posts.

 On a random side note, Sonic’s Cherry LimeAdes are the best and always welcomed in the RLO. 

 -Marianne

So Housing selection is over and boy, was it interesting! Marianne Luther anticipated for there to be about 20 rising juniors who simply would have no place on campus to stay. Lo and behold, every student who signed up to live on campus (and who came to housing selection) got a room! I am so pleased at how that turned out, because I had put myself in the shoes of those who might not get housing. I thought to myself, what would I do? The very thought was frightening, so I just prayed for those who might have to go through that! It was also fantastic to see that all of my girls also got the housing that they desired! My freshmen were nervous and really didn’t know what to expect! I told them the truth: the whole process is unpredictable! You must go in there with a bunch of back-up plans! They heeded to my advice, and got exactly what they wanted! When they are happy, I am happy. The only thing I worry about is that some of my girls, and other people I see around campus, have decided to room with a very close friend in the coming year. Sometimes, this reaaaaaally isn’t a good idea. It can ruin the friendship. There are many people for whom it works well, though! So, I’m really proud of myself. All RAs are required to put up two bulletin boards during the semester to foster passive programming on their halls. I just put up my second one and it is FABULOUS (I am allowed to brag on myself, right?)! The idea of it is that it’s never too early to start studying for finals. It’s got these really awesome tips on it:  

Start early! Get started long before the 1^st day of finals week. Think of finals week as FINALS WEEKS! 

SLEEP! College finals are designed to make you think! If you are sleep deprived, you won’t be able to comprehend the challenging questions you will face! 

Determine what type of final you will be taking: non-comprehensive or comprehensive and study accordingly! 

Study in an out-of-the-way place. As tempted as you are to study with your friends, your best bet is to find a place of your own where you can think.  

Don’t spend the entire night before trying to run down a copy of last year’s exam. That’s against the Honor Code and just stupid! 

Stay calm during the exam! Remind yourself that you are well-prepared! And Read all the directions! Remain calm AFTER the exam. Even if you think you did horribly, worrying about it afterwards will not change a thing.  

MAKE SURE YOU EAT! Certain foods help relieve stress: fruits and veggies. Avoid foods with high sugar, grease, junk foods, and carbonated drinks. They aggravate your stress! 

Focus on what you hate first! Study the subjects you either don’t like or are struggling with first! This will help you focus more attention where it is needed! 

The best thing about being an RA in my opinion is being able to give advice to your fellow Rhodents. It’s great being a junior on my freshmen hall, because I feel like I have a lot to offer my ladies. And, boy do they take advantage of it!  I just have to add in that I am SOOOO excited to be a junior. I have worked so hard and pressed through my trials to get this far, and I have almost made it! It’s unbelievable! I am so proud to be a Math major with a 3. something GPA! There are only 4 junior Math majors, and I am one of two representing minority groups at Rhodes. That’s huge. One thing the Math department needs more of is DIVERSITY and I am bringin’ it! Anywho, since coming to Rhodes, I have done things I never thought I could do. LIFE IS GOOD!!! I am alive and well…I have friends that are there, I have an amazing support system back home, I have a man who understands what it means to support each other, I have frenemies (you know those friends who are secretly out to get you…well those are good to have in your life too), I’ve GOT IT ALL! Who deserves the praise? Who has brought me thus far? Who has given me so many opportunities at this school? Who has provided financially for me to attend this school? Who has made ways in those early morning hours when I cried over how to do a math problem? Who has been there when there was no one else to call? None other than my omnipotent Father…and I thank Him.  

Have a FANTASTIC week! And take some time for yourself this week, kay?