Review your dorm room / Win a $25 Amazon gift certificate

Thanks to feedback from last year's Room Selection survey, Residential Life & Housing has created a Room Review website (i.e. a CULPA for dorm rooms). Hopefully, these reviews will help students to make educated decisions while preparing for Room Selection.

Students are encouraged to submit a review, photo, or video of their room at http://roomselection.barnardreslife.org/ (even if they are not participating in Room Selection). Students may also review rooms they previously lived in.

On April 5, Residential Life & Housing will randomly select 4 reviews and the writers will each receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate.

Information about Room Selection will be available later this month. Dates for Info Sessions, Registration, Selection Days, etc, are available at http://roomselection.barnardreslife.org/calendar/.

Special Interest Housing Suite Applications (due Feb 22)

If you and a group of friends are interested in living together next year and would like to help create programs & events around a topic, you may apply to be a Special Interest Housing Suite for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Applications and more information are available at http://barnard.edu/reslife/specialinterest/.

Applications must be submitted by 4pm on Monday, February 22.

Students may apply in groups of 4-6. Three groups be selected for the 2010-2011 academic year. Groups that are selected will be assigned to a suite and do not have to go through Room Selection. Groups who wish to return the following year must reapply for consideration.

If you have any questions after visiting http://barnard.edu/reslife/specialinterest/, please contact housing@barnard.edu or stop by the Residential Life & Housing office (110 Sulzberger).

Spring Room Change Requests

Room Change Request forms are now available on the Res Life website. Please note that this will be the last opportunity to request a room change for the academic year (except in emergency situations).

If you wish to request a room change, please submit a completed Room Change Request form to the Residential Life & Housing office (110 Sulzberger) no later than 4pm on Thursday, January 28.

If you'd like to recruit a friend to a vacancy in your suite/room, please submit a Roommate/Suitemate Request Form. That person will also need to submit a Room Change Request form asking to move to your room/suite. Both forms must be submitted no later than 4pm on Thursday, January 28.

If there is a vacancy in your double or triple room, you may submit a request to "Buy Out" that space (and not get a new roommate). Buy Out Request forms are available online and should be submitted no later than 4pm on Thursday, January 28. Otherwise, the vacancy may be assigned to a student as a room change.

Visit http://barnard.edu/reslife/roomchanges/ for more information. If you have any questions, please email Matt Kingston, Associate Director for Housing Operations, at mkingston@barnard.edu or stop by the Res Life Office.

Water shut off in 600 / 616 / 620 / SUH / PLM on 12/29 & 30

The Office of Facilities Services has contracted American Pipe and Tank to clean the domestic water tanks in Altschul, Sulzberger, Plimpton, 600, 616 & 620 during the winter break (12/29 & 30). This work, which is required by City code, will involve the emptying of the building water supply and the scraping and sanitizing of the tank interior. Science lab sinks, kitchen and bathroom fixtures will not be functional during the interval that the tanks are empty. This service disruption will typically last only a few hours as indicated in the included schedule.

The work schedule is as follows:

Tuesday 12/29
12am - 3:30pm -- Altschul
7am - 11am -- Sulzberger Hall
7am - 12pm -- Plimpton

Wednesday 12/30
8am - 12pm -- 616 W 116th St
10am - 3pm -- 600 W 116th St
12pm - 4pm --  620 W 116th St

All buildings will receive a posted notice with their specific starting and completion date & time.

Should you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to contact Facilities Services at 854 - 2041.

Holiday Observances / Candles are Prohibited

As the holiday season begins, all of us in Residential Life and Housing would like to send along our best wishes for a successful completion to your semester and for a happy and healthy holiday season.

The holiday season is filled with special occasions and traditions which have an impact on our entire community.  We would like for everyone to be safe in their observance of the holiday season.

With this in mind, please be reminded that the possession and lighting of any candles in the residence halls is prohibited.  We will do our best to accommodate as many observances as possible providing they are safe for the entire community.

For example, this Chanukah season (December 11-19) lighting of candles will ONLY be allowed in the Sulzberger Lobby.  In collaboration with Rabbi Yonah and with the help of student volunteers, one Menorah will be lit at the following times:


Friday, December 11:  4-4:30pm
Saturday, December 12 - Thursday, December 17:  5-5:30pm
Friday, December 18:  4-4:30pm
Saturday, December 19:  5-5:30pm


If you need to arrange something for another tradition, please be in touch with housing@barnard.edu so we can assist you. Thanks for your cooperation and we wish you a very happy holiday season.

110th St cable modem outage

Yesterday (Thursday, November 19th), Time Warner Cable experiences a problems with a damaged "node" that caused a neighborhood-wide Road Runner cable modem service outage. They report that the problem has now been fixed. Residents of 110th St with cable modems, however, need to follow the reboot instructions at http://www.barnard.edu/resnet/roadrunner.html in order for their modem to receive a signal and connect to the internet.

If you continue to have problems with your cable modem after following the reboot instructions, please contact help@barnard.edu for troubleshooting.

Spring Room Change & Buy Out Request Forms

Spring Room Change request forms will be available to download from http://barnard.edu/reslife/roomchanges/ starting Mon, Nov 23.  Request forms will be due no later than 1pm on Thur, Dec 3.  If you are granted a room change, you must be willing to stay until the end of exam week (10am on Thur, Dec 24) to complete your room change before Winter Break starts.

If a vacancy opens up in your double or triple, you may submit a request to "Buy Out" that space (and not get a new roommate).  Buy Out Request forms will be available to download from http://barnard.edu/reslife/roomchanges/ starting Mon, Nov 23. Otherwise, the vacancy will likely be filled through a room change or by a new spring student.

If a vacancy opens up in your room/suite, you may encourage a friend to request the space through a Room Change Request or by specifying your room/suite on their housing application (i.e. students returning from abroad, readmitted, etc). You will need to submit a Roommate/Suitemate Request Form (http://barnard.edu/reslife/roomchanges/Roommate_Suitemate_Request_Form.pdf) mutually requesting your friend, no later than 1pm on Thur, Dec 3.

40+ visiting international students will be coming this Spring from Denmark, Italy, China, South Korea, and Singapore. If you have a space opening up in your room/suite and would like to request one of these students, please email housing@barnard.edu.

RA Applications

Would you like to be an RA next year? The RA Selection Process is quickly approaching! To apply, you MUST attend one of the following Information Sessions. At these sessions, you will learn more about the position, the interview process and pick up the application packet.

Information Sessions:

• Tuesday,12/1, 5:00-6:00pm -- Lewis Parlor (1st Floor of Brooks)
• Wednesday, 12/2, 9:30-10:30pm -- Lewis Parlor (1st Floor of Brooks)
• Thursday, 12/3, 7:00-8:00pm -- Lewis Parlor (1st Floor of Brooks)
• Friday, 12/4, 1:00-2:00pm -- Lewis Parlor (1st Floor of Brooks)
• Sunday, 12/6, 5:00-6:00pm -- Lewis Parlor (1st Floor of Brooks)

You can find additional information about the RA position by visiting the RA Selection information page, downloading the RA Information Packet (PDF), or visiting our Facebook Group.

If you have questions after reading the Information Packet and visiting the Facebook Group, please email the RA Selection Committee at raselection@barnard.edu. We hope to see you at one of the information sessions!

Best,
The RA Selection Committee
Julia Tolentino, Sulz Tower RA
Leonore Waldrip, FYF RA
Chera Reid, 110th St. Graduate Hall Director
Liz Smith, S/X Graduate Hall Director
Jody Wecht, Assistant to the Associate Dean
Steve Tolman, Associate Director

Heat information from Facilities

The weather has begun to turn cold and the heating system in all college-owned buildings has been activated (effective 10/1/09 as required by the NYC code). The boiler in your building is set to automatic operation and will turn on to provide heat whenever the outside air temperature falls below 55 degrees. We try to maintain interior room temperatures in a range of 68-70 degrees.

Please follow these helpful hints to help conserve heat:

• Close all windows to prevent drafts and heat loss. If you are having troubles closing a window or if you feel air entering around a window, please submit a work order or contact the Facilities Office.
  
  
• Keep radiators clear of furniture, bedding and clothing to allow unrestricted air flow around your radiator. This helps keep warm air circulating and distributes heat throughout the room.
  
  
• If your room feels cold or a radiator appears not to be working properly, please contact the Facilities Office at 854-2041 (8am-5 pm). After 5pm, please call 854-3362 (Public Safety) to report a cold complaint. A mechanic will immediately be dispatched to check and address the problem(s).
  
  
• If you live at 601 W 110th St and your room feels cold or a radiator appears not to be working properly, please contract the 110th St Front Desk or dial 0 on your intercom (facilities concerns are handled in-house at 110th St).

Julio Vazquez, Director
Office of Facilities Services

Winter Break Housing Requests (due Dec 21)

Barnard College's residence halls will close officially for Winter Break at 10am on Thursday, December 24, 2009 and reopen at 9am on Saturday, January 16, 2010.

Students may not return to or live in the residence halls over Winter Break UNLESS they have received permission from Residential Life & Housing and have a valid 09/10 Winter Break sticker on their ID. Only students living in the residence halls for BOTH the Fall & Spring semesters may request Winter Break Housing.

Winter Break Housing Request Forms will be available to download from the Res Life website (http://barnard.edu/reslife/winterbreak/) on Monday, November 23 and must be submitted no later than 1pm on Monday, December 21.

Students approved to stay over Winter Break will be billed $100 on their student account, regardless of length of stay. The fee will be waived for the following students only: seniors, international students, athletes competing over Winter Break, and/or students participating in approved workshops the last week of break (for the length of the workshop only).

Permission may be granted for the following reasons:

• You are a Senior (Seniors still MUST submit the request form to receive permission & get a WB sticker)
• You are working for a Barnard/Columbia office over winter break
• You are conducting research with a faculty member
• You are working at an internship in the city
• You are an international student or have a conflict with an international flight
• You are an athlete whose team is in practice and/or competition

If you are NOT a Senior or an international student, you will be required to provide documentation w/ your request form (ex. a memo on letterhead from your employer, printout of your international flight itinerary, etc).

The following reasons will NOT be approved:

• You want to attend a fabulous New Year’s Eve party in the city
• You want to bring your friends to the city for vacation
• Your domestic flight home leaves after the check-out deadline
• Your parents can’t come on the scheduled check-out day to pick you up
• Your bedroom at home is now a guest room
• You scheduled a vacation flight out of a NY airport and want to stay over
• You will not be in housing for the Spring semester (or were not in housing for the Fall semester), ex. students going abroad for the Spring or graduating in February

Please note that students with approval to stay over Winter Break are limited to a maximum of one (1) guest at a time during Winter Break (other Barnard students who did not receive permission to stay during Winter Break do count as guests).

For more information, visit http://barnard.edu/reslife/winterbreak/.

Note:  Barnard students living in Columbia residence halls are subject to CU Housing policies relating to Winter Break housing.