Eastern Mennonite University

Housing & Residence Life:
Housing Booklet

Return to Housing Booklet Table of Contents

STORAGE ^

Each residence hall has a limited amount of small-item storage space. Articles must be clearly labeled. The University assumes no responsibility and does not provide insurance for students' personal property.

Students should check with their parents to see if a waiver can be added to their home owners insurance OR students may opt to purchase rental insurance (for belongings in your room as well).

Some summer storage for belongings will be available. Storing items during the summer requires a fee charged to your account.

PROPERTY INSURANCE ^

The University is not responsible for personal property that is lost, stolen or damaged at any time OR when it is left behind at the time the student vacates the Residence hall. Students are encouraged to speak with their parents about adding a rider to their homeowner's policy OR purchasing rental insurance.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES and IMPORTANT INFORMATION ^

ROOM AND VEHICLE ENTRY BY STAFF
The University reserves the right to have authorized personnel enter a student's room or vehicle without student permission during random room searches and when there is reasonable cause to believe that EMU regulations or federal and state criminal laws have been or are being violated. Staff may also enter rooms and vehicles for safety concerns.

CAR REGISTRATION & PARKING
All students are allowed to have cars on campus. However, you must register and receive a sticker for your vehicle from the Physical Plant Office free of charge within the first week after bringing it to campus. Parking is usually not a problem for students. There are designated parking lots for resident students and several unrestricted lots which students may use.

ROOM DECORATIONS
Room decorating is highly encouraged within the guidelines (for example, no nails or tacks). Check with your Community Advisor or Resident Director before doing any decorating which may become a cash investment (fine) for you!

BICYCLES
Bicycles can be stored in the bicycle sheds or bicycle racks. If you want to keep your bike, please DO NOT leave bikes unchained around campus.

LAUNDRY
Washers and dryers are available in each residence hall free of charge. Clothes cannot be hung in the windows to dry or left on racks in the bathrooms, kitchens or hallways.

LOFTS
Student-owned lofts are not allowed in residence halls. Flexible loft units are provided by the university. Units can be arranged on floor level, bunk or loft styles. If you wish to rearrange your furniture, you should plan to bring your own 9/16 wrenches or you may sign out equipment from your Resident Director.

TELEVISION
Each residence hall has at least one television with cable access in the floor lounges.

COMPUTERS
You are strongly encouraged to bring a computer to school, but it is not required. As an EMU student, you will have 24-hour access to computer labs.

Information Systems recommends that you purchase a new computer to bring to EMU, but a computer purchased within the past two years will likely work.

EMU provides a wired network connection in every dorm room and wireless network access in all residence halls and in the common areas in most major buildings on campus. When you connect to the network, you will be guided through a process to install any necessary security updates and university-provided anti-virus protection. Information Systems staff will be available during move-in weekend to assist you with connecting to the network. Personal wireless access points are not allowed on the EMU network.

Note: Your EMU tuition account (i.e. tuition, room, and board) must be in current status to connect your personal computer to the EMU network. Please contact the EMU Business Office for more information.

TELEPHONES
Students need to provide a phone. All rooms on campus are equipped with a voice-mail box for saving and sending messages. Long-distance calls are billed to your student account (payable monthly). Long distance authorization codes will be assigned at the beginning of the school year and sent through campus mail. Domestic Long Distance Phone Rates (all 50 states) are just 8 cents a minute all day, every day. A $5 service fee will be assessed for lost or replaced authorization codes. Sharing authorization codes is prohibited. You will be held responsible for all calls made with your authorization code. 

Students in residence halls are billed for long distance calls directly to their residence hall phone number (i.e. 3rd party calls). There is a $10 handling charge to student accounts for any collect calls received. If the responsible individual cannot be identified, the cost will be split between all residents of the room or suite.
 
Making abusive, harassing or obscene calls is in violation of EMU rules and regulations. The Information Systems Office gives full cooperation and technical assistance to both the EMU Residence Life judicial procedures and legal authorities in enforcing the law regarding these calls. Students who receive annoying, harassing, or obscene phone calls should initially discuss the problem with their Residence Director. Note the date, time, content and any other pertinent details of the call.
 

MAIL
All students living on campus have the same address. US mail is delivered to the Post Office in the Campus Center daily. Deliveries from Federal Express, Express Mail, United Parcel Service, etc. are also made to the Post Office. If you wish to lighten your packing load, send packages ahead of time to your name and address as listed below.
Your correct mailing address will be:

( The EMU Post Office prefers that you do not indicate a mailbox.)

FOOD & FLORAL DELIVERIES
Food orders are only made to the MAIN door of the residence hall where vendors have access to the outside phone. On arrival, vendors will alert the resident of arrival by dialing the resident room extension. Floral deliveries may be sent to the Information Office in the Campus Center (432-4000) or to the Residence Director.

DAMAGE ASSESMENTS
Students are responsible for any and all damage to their assigned room or suite and will be assessed by the University for the cost of repair and replacement. Damage to common living areas (such as hallways, lounges or bathrooms) will be divided equally among residents occupying that living area unless the individual responsible for the damage can be identified.

FIRE/ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Alterations to any kind of electrical or wiring system are strictly prohibited. Extension cords may be used if they are U.L. listed and have a wire size equal to, or greater than, the wire size of the connected items (the smaller the wire gauge, the larger the wire size) . A minimum size of 14 gauge is required. Extension cords can not be located under rugs or carpets, nor can they be woven through the bed springs. Multiple outlet strips are permitted if they are U.L. listed, have a maximum ampere rating of 15, and have an integral circuit breaker or fuse. The multiple outlet strips cannot be plugged into one another, and only one per student is permitted.

Flammable items such as fuel may not be stored in residence hall rooms. Items which require an open flame, operate on fuel, or which produce heat (i.e. bunsen burners, lighted candles, incense) are prohibited. All matches, candles, incense and other uses of open flames are strictly prohibited.

Tampering with, or the misues of fire-safety equipment is prohibited. Fire-safety equipment includes, but is not limited to, smoke detectors, sprinkler system equipment, alarm pull stations, and extinguishers. Students and/or guests found causing a false alarm may face arrest and/or stern University action.

ROOM SMOKE DETECTOR
Most residence hall rooms contain a battery powered smoke detector. VA Fire Safety codes require weekly smoke detector testing. Each resident is responsible for testing the smoke detector in his/her room. If you have any questions, or your smoke detector fails to operate properly, contact your Community Advisor or Residence Director. Unauthorized removal of a smoke detector and/or batteries will result in disciplinary action.

Northlawn Residence Hall and Hillside Suites are fully equipped with sprinkler systems. Students must not hang anything on the sprinkler head or the units will discharge. Residents found to have caused damage to rooms because of sprinkler system misuse will be disciplined appropriately.

SAFETY AROUND CAMPUS OR CITY