With the change in lottery number distribution for university housing this year, the residence life department is working to place students who did not get their first choices for next year’s housing.

This year, lottery numbers were distributed randomly as opposed to years past, when lottery numbers were based on student credit hours.

Karla Cunningham, director of residence life, said everyone has a bed and a place to live next year.

“We’re managing the lists of students who want to be placed in different housing than they had on selection night,” Cunningham said. “We will work from now until opening to match students with their first preference as openings happen.”

Cunningham said openings occur often but are also unpredictable.

Openings can occur if students end up studying abroad, moving into Greek housing or not returning to Butler the following fall.

As the numbers currently stand, 48 rising sophomores are projected to live in Ross Hall again next year, and 53 rising sophomores are projected to live in Schwitzer Hall next year.

No juniors were placed in Residential College.

Doug Howell, associate director of residence life, said in an email that the numbers as they stand now are as high as they will get, as residence life will be constantly working to move sophomores out of the freshman residence halls.

“Last year at this time, we did have a number of sophomores assigned to Ross and Schwitzer going into the summer,” Howell said.  “However, by the time we opened in August, we had zero sophomores living there.”

Howell said that was the first time that residence life, within 20 years of personal experience, knew of a time when there were not some sophomores living in Ross or Schwitzer.

While this year’s zero was a fluke, Howell said, the number is usually small, with somewhere around 10 to 15 sophomores living in each freshman residence hall.

Sophomores generally live in the Residential College or the Christian Theological Seminary.

Freshman Jared Shindler is currently projected to live in Ross Hall for his sophomore year.

“It wasn’t my first choice, but as long as I can still go to Butler, I’ll be fine,” Shindler said. “If I do have the chance to move, I’ll most likely take it.”

Cunningham said the residence life department will cluster the sophomores together in a unit so they won’t be scattered throughout the building.

She said the unit’s resident assistant will be aware that residents are sophomores so programming and events for them can be planned accordingly.

Some students, such as sophomore Catherine Skoog and her roommates, did not get their first choice of living in Apartment Village for next year.

“We wanted to live there because of its closeness to the Pharmacy Building because we’re all pharmacy majors and at times can have late classes and labs,” Skoog said.  “We did not want to be walking back so far in the dark after classes.”

Skoog said they ended up signing for an apartment in the Christian Theological Seminary, but it seemed to her that both that location and AV filled up quickly.

Current juniors have the option to stay in their on-campus apartments if they wish to for their senior year.

“I think it would have been a good year to allow some of the juniors to live off campus if they would have liked to,” Skoog said.

The university has a rule that students have to live on campus for at least three years unless they have commuter status and live at home.

As the largest freshman class moves through the progressive housing, Cunningham said changing that rule would be a bigger discussion for more than just the residence life department.

With that considered, she said she doesn’t see any change for it at this point.

“I think there are benefits for the three-year residency requirement,” Cunningham said. “Students who live on campus are more involved, can access services and might have stronger relationships with their peers who they live with.   This helps them to be more engaged on campus and (with) their academic programs because they are able to access those services more conveniently.”

Students flooded out of residence halls in response to a fire drill on Thursday night, and this was not the first time for most students.

Lindsey Birt, Butler University Police Department environmental health and safety specialist, said there have been 17 fire alarms that have gone off since Aug. 22 at Butler.

Schwitzer Hall set off five alarms, and Apartment Village set off three.

These two buildings combined have set off almost half of the fire alarms. Birt said most of these alarms have been set off by burnt food and steam from showers.

Greg Harris, residence life coordinator, said the reason  the alarms have been set off in Apartment Village is because the sensors were cleaned in the summer. They are more sensitive, and shower steam can set off  alarms.

Residence life staff is encouraging resident assistants to talk at unit meetings about microwaving safely so the alarms are not set off, said Karla Cunningham, director of residence life.

Birt said an alarm is called a fire alarm activation when something actually sets it off. A drill is supervised, and the response to the drill is observed.

Fire drills are a federal and state requirement. Each year, four drills must be done in the residence halls, one in academic buildings and four in Atherton Union.

Freshman Ashley Crossland, a resident of Schwitzer Hall, said she feels that having these alarms go off continually will be dangerous.

“If there was an actual fire, I don’t really hurry to get out anymore,” Crossland said. “I’m kind of like, ‘just another false alarm.’ ”

Cunningham said that students should be thinking of multiple ways to exit the building in case of a real emergency.

“The time to think about those emergency egresses are in the daylight when there is no emergency,” she said.

Cunningham also said taking drills seriously is important.

“We want people always to exit the buildings as quickly and as safely as possible,” Cunningham said. “People should always take it seriously, no matter what time of day it is or what the weather is outside.”

Freshmen arrived Aug. 18 with bags and books in tow, but also came with differing expectations.

Freshmen had mixed expectations on the alcohol policy and how it is enforced.

“I thought (the alcohol policy) was going to be enforced a lot more than it actually is,” freshman Jordan Reisman said.

Reisman said the one measure that he did not expect was the excise police.

Taking a look back at the previous year, sophomore Christina Perry, a resident assistant in Schwitzer Hall, said the message has changed from last year to this year.

“With the Red Cup Culture  video as a freshman, I didn’t really feel like they were giving off that it’s not okay if you drink,” Perry said. “But if you’re going to drink, it’s your choice, and we want you to be safe.”

She said that posters serve as a reminder that you need to be 21 to consume. Otherwise, you shouldn’t be drinking.

Freshman Elaine Coughlin, said she did not expect the policy enforcement.

“Everyone is talking about these undercover cops,” she said. “I didn’t think it was going to be that intense.”

Similar to Coughlin, freshman Abby Krabacher said, “I thought it was going to be a lot more relaxed.”

Assistant Chief of Police Andrew Ryan, said the policy depends on what students should expect.

“We respond to student behavior specifically as it relates to drug and alcohol use,” Ryan said. “We would respond to their behavior and then take the appropriate steps to make sure that the student is safe.”

Ryan said there have been some changes from previous years.

“We’ve been a little more strict in interpreting behaviors and issuing summons arrests along with the student affairs report,”  Ryan said.

Butler University Police Department has issued five summons arrests in September and made one custodial arrest this month. State excise police have made 10 summons arrests.

“The crackdown is a little bit excessive,” freshman Laurent Dupuis said.

In regard to the rest of the year, Ryan said, “We will adjust our staffing needs as needed, so there may be certain times of the year that you may see more officers working.”

Tree leaves and other plant life on campus may be changing color as summer ends, but departments and organizations around Butler University are continuing to go green.

In addition to being environmentally friendly, Butler is also saving and earning money with its numerous green initiatives.

The two major points in Butler’s quest to become more green are recycling and energy saving.

Dick Hamm, director of housekeeping,  said several positive changes have been made to the school’s recycling program since 2006.

“There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but I think if we look over the course of five or six years, we’ve come a long way,” Hamm said.

Butler’s recent partnership with ABITIBI Bowater and long-standing relationship with Ray’s Trash Service help the university deal with a large amount of its waste.

Green and yellow ABITIBI bins are in six locations on campus and are meant for the paper generated by the university. Hamm said Butler receives approximately $100 from ABITIBI every three months for the paper it recycles.

Two cardboard compactors are also located on campus. The university pays Ray’s Trash $100 to move the bins, but Ray’s then pays Butler between $200 and $300 per pull. This happens as many as three times per year, Hamm said.

Butler also has a scrap metal recycle bin, which Hamm said is pulled by Ray’s four to five times per year and earns the university up to $400 per pull.

“(Ray’s Trash has) been with us a long time, and it has been a good relationship,” Hamm said. “They give us above-and-beyond service.”

Some of the money earned through the recycling program is used to purchase other things for the program.

Concrete pads—each costing $1,200—needed to be placed underneath the cardboard compactors and were paid for with the money earned by the program.

Butler also received a $24,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in 2008 to upgrade recycling stations on campus.

As much money as the university earns from its recycling program, even more money is being saved through Butler’s energy-saving practices.

Jerry Carlson, director of maintenance services, said switching Irwin Library from steam heating to decentralized power heating has saved the university $30,000 per year.

“It’s more about lowering your consumption than lowering your cost,” Carlson said.

Nearly all of Butler’s buildings are now heated by decentralized hot water heating systems instead of steam boilers, with the exception of Schwitzer Hall. Carlson said this prevents the university from having to spend more money on natural gas.

Butler’s two chemistry labs recently received new fume hoods allowing air to be contained within a filter instead of exhausting it outside.

Carlson said the change will save the university about $50,000 per year.

The money Butler saves through changes in energy consumption funds new energy-saving projects. Carlson said Butler officials look to take on projects that can be paid back in 10 years or fewer.

“It just makes sense to try to get those projects done and paid back in a hurry,” Carlson said.

Other energy-saving maneuvers adopted by the university include placing light sensors in rooms and Information Techonology’s changing servers.

The light sensors read the amount of sunlight a room is receiving so light energy is not wasted.

IT’s smaller servers do not require as much energy to run and generate less heat, which ensures less energy is needed to cool the room they are housed in.

Hamm and Carlson said the Environment Concerns Organization, a student-run program, has also worked to push green initiatives on campus.

ECO President Daniel French said that the organization has held water bottle drives (meant to reduce the number of water bottles used by students), had discussions about water conservation with students and cleaned the White River on canoes.

The organization also participates in Recyclemania, an annual spring recycling competition. ECO earned first place in the state in the event last semester.

French said that while faculty and staff may lean toward money concerns when thinking about green initiatives, the university is making smart decisions.

“I think they’re looking in the right direction,” French said. “Butler is really willing to work with students.”

French said President Jim Danko’s signing of the President’s Climate Commitment last April is one sign of this.

According to Butler’s website, the commitment is “a pledge to create a long-range plan to eliminate the campus’ net emissions of greenhouse gases.”

French said the work of Timothy Carter, director of the Center for Urban Ecology, has also been beneficial to green initiatives on campus.

Carter works with Butler’s campus farm and said the farm has saved the university money in multiple ways.

“(The farm) sells produce to people at Butler and local restaurants,” Carter said. “Also, a student recently turned vegetable oil into diesel fuel to run a John Deere vehicle, which costs much less (than gasoline).”

Despite the ongoing improvements to Butler’s green initiatives, Hamm said students need to be more aware of the university’s attempts to go green.

“I think the message needs to come from the students,” Hamm said. “I also think ECO can be instrumental in getting the word out to students.”

Carlson said Butler can and needs to continue down its current green path.

“I’m sure there’s always more that can be done,” Carlson said. “We’ve been on the cutting edge before it was popular to talk about green products.”

The Butler University maintenance committee is looking to start addressing the lack of parking and shrinking living space within the next month.

Butler is in the midst of many renovations, including a $1.7 million restoration on the exterior of Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The restoration was funded by a national grant and a matched dollar amount from the university.

The other major projects on campus include the completion of the Schrott Center and the refurbishment of Jordan Hall.

Senior Project Manager Craig Hardee said that a master plan was drawn up in 2011 that included more renovations for the campus.

“There is a total remodel for the interior of Hinkle in the design process, with new bathrooms, seats and scoreboard, along with a new residence hall located most likely in the front lawn of Schwitzer, renovations of the current halls and a parking garage,” Hardee said.

Rich Michal, executive director of facilities, said that the parking garage is a huge need because total enrollment is growing and the need for more space is vital.

However, members of the committee are trying to maintain the aesthetics of campus and not diminish it with this new structure, which would most likely be located near Schwitzer Hall and the Fairbanks Center.

“Butler is a traditional land-locked campus, and we want to maintain that so this campus is beautiful for centuries to come,” Michal said.

Jerry Carlson, director of maintenance services, said that the 2011 master plan that was drawn up will hopefully be completed within the next few years.

“We have a September board meeting which will point us in what direction to take, but the parking garage is so far set to be completed in August of 2014, which will be just in time for the new year in preparation of increasing enrollment,” Carlson said.

Though current students may not see all these projects completed in their time at Butler, the plans are set to improve this campus for many years to come.

Butler University is facing a time when the incoming classes continue to grow. The current expected freshman class size of 1,111 students shot up from last year’s class size of 926.
Upperclassmen were offered alternative housing opportunities to help accommodate freshmen.
In 2003, additional housing options were offered when Butler’s incoming freshman class totaled 976 students. This was, at the time, the largest class size in Butler’s history.
“This is not the first time we’ve had the next largest class ever,” Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson said.
“Each year, we’ve utilized what resources and partnerships we have in order to address and provide additional space that we need.”
One of these partnerships is the Christian Theological Seminary apartments, located at the intersection of 42nd street and Haughey Avenue.  This option was also offered in 2003 and 2010.
Upperclassmen living in this alternative option pay the Residential College rate, which runs at approximately $5,370 per year for a double room. Fifty-nine students plus one resident assistant will be living there this year.
Accommodations were made in the freshman dorms as well.   Fifteen rooms in Schwitzer Hall and 10 male Ross Hall rooms were converted from double rooms to triple rooms. This has been used as an answer to growth before.
Ross has a capacity of 500 students while Schwitzer can now hold around 470 students thanks to the basement renovations that occurred there two years ago, which added more dorm rooms.
“We’re not in a (housing) crisis situation,” Karla Cunningham, director of residence life, said. “I think our facility staff has done a nice job of making sure the rooms are set up with plenty of room and floor space for each student.”
Freshmen who voluntarily opted for the converted triples pay a reduced room rate of $3,210 per year instead of the normal double rate of $4,810 per year.
“I thought at first I wanted a double room, but then, I considered the triple,” freshman Benjamin Abel said. “I’ll be able to save money.  It could use a little bit more closet space, but other than that, it’s pretty good so far.”
The increasing freshman classes and sophomore year retention rates contribute to the population growth.
“We’re getting into the phase where policies on housing are being evaluated in order to accommodate increasing numbers,” Johnson said. “We want to do what’s best for Butler.”
What’s best for Butler, Johnson said, depends on feedback and opinions straight from the student body, families and faculty.
“Right now, we’re at a stage where we all need to work together to come up with a strategic plan on moving forward,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to find answers to where we can max out at providing the true Butler experience.”
The strategic plan includes opinions on the size of the university over the next few years, and, if it does grow, the possible addition of a new dorm.
“We always need to be looking at what’s the best housing option for students and making good decisions,” Cunningham said.
Nothing is currently set in stone. The New Student Success Task Force, which is comprised of faculty from different departments, was first established in 2003 to deal with the new growth that year.
Johnson and the force are merely etching out possible plans for the future.
“We want this to be an inclusive process by which people are providing feedback to the thoughts and ideas that are out there,” Johnson said.  “In the end, it’s in everyone’s interest to make Butler the best Butler it can be.”

All buildings now have full electricity after a power outage at Butler University Saturday left students in the dark and employees working overtime.

Butler staff shut off power across campus after lightning struck near or on the power plant located behind Schwitzer Hall said Ben Hunter, Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety.

Hunter said that electricity problems have occurred before but they “haven’t been as catastrophic as this.”

A 2009 storm caused a campus-wide power outage for 24 hours, said Gerald Carlson, director of maintenance services.

He said that Saturday’s storm and power outage could cost—at a guess—between $25,000 and $30,000.

These costs would take into account the generators, the new wiring and overtime compensation.

Carlson said an underground wire shorted and was burnt through, which caused the smoke. The decision was then made to shut off the switchgear that controls campus power.

“We could not risk losing that switchgear,” Carlson said. “We had to shut it down.”

The main switchgear controls electricity for buildings across campus and is comprised of nine switches that distribute power. Carlson said that the $600,000 switchgear was installed last summer and that it would have taken three months to replace it if it had been destroyed.

The burnt cable belongs to switch five, which controls power for Lilly Hall, Irwin Library, Residential College and the east and middle parts of Jordan Hall.

A generator was brought in to power Residential College while employees from Butler and Barth Electric made repairs, Carlson said.

He said Atherton’s wiring goes through the same switch, so power was shut down, while a second generator provided power to keep food services running.

“Our goal was to make sure power was back on so we didn’t disrupt classes two weeks before finals,” Carlson said.

Though power was up in time for classes, Saturday proved a difficult time for some Butler students.

Brandon Douthitt, a freshman music major, was practicing saxophone in Lilly Hall when the lights went out.

“I looked outside, and it was pitch black,” he said.

ResCo’s power returned just before midnight Saturday, but Douthitt said he was concerned the power in his residence hall could have been out until Monday. Jordan, Lilly and Irwin regained power at around 7 p.m. Sunday.

Alyssa Setnar, a freshman motorsports engineering and physics major, was getting ready for the Kappa Alpha Theta formal when the power went out.

“I was about to dry my hair when the power went out,” Setnar said. “I realized that I had dinner in an hour and my hair was wet.”

After walking to the Kappa Alpha Theta house to dry her hair, Setnar said she was left out in the rain because Schwitzer’s ID scanners were shut off due to the power outage.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened on the same night as formal, but it’s not their fault that it happened,” she said.

In addition, the power went out during the Saturday matinee of “Les Misérables” at Clowes Memorial Hall.

“I feel sorry for all the patrons that bought tickets,” Carlson said, “but they can work with Clowes to see about refunds.”

Students received alerts and updates about the power outage via DawgAlert and Twitter.

Douthitt said the situation was “handled well.”

Carlson credits staff, some of whom worked until 3 a.m. Sunday, for getting the power up as quickly as possible.

“We’ve got great employees who came up with a game plan to get it operational so that it didn’t affect classes and students,” Carlson said. “Two of them had about two hours of sleep between Saturday and Sunday.”

The daily cleaning of every dormitory bathroom is only one responsibility of Butler University’s housekeeping staff.

Richard Hamm, director of building services, works closely with his supervisors, Augusto Acosta and Jenny Roell, to try to keep the residence halls as clean and sanitary as possible.

Acosta supervises Ross Hall, Residential College and the Apartment Village, and Roell is supervisor for Schwitzer Hall and University Terrace.

Hamm said there are typically 16 staff members working each day during the week who are responsible for cleaning the public bathrooms of the residence halls daily, as well as performing weekly sanitary procedures for things like doorknobs, handrails and other frequently touched surfaces throughout the buildings.

Water is considered housekeeping’s biggest problem because even after standing water is cleaned up, it can often cause mold, mildew or electrical issues in places unseen, Acosta said.

“Water is our biggest enemy,” Hamm said. “Communication is our biggest friend.”

Hamm said that this is one reason that communication is so important because reporting these sorts of incidents immediately can help reduce the likelihood of a situation worsening.

Hamm said the main thing that residents can do to help housekeeping address issues promptly and appropriately is to make sure they communicate with their resident assistant when they see problem areas.

Even with the staff’s effort, some students said they think the bathrooms could still be cleaner.

Renee Mommaerts, a freshman psychology and pre-med major, said that the showers always seem very dirty.

“There are hairballs everywhere,” she said.

Phil Dwyer, a freshman computer science major, said he heard of an incident when someone put a trash can in one of Ross Hall’s showers and another incident involving someone vomiting in the shower area.

“Monday mornings are rough,” Hamm said.

When breakouts are reported, such as the H1N1 virus two years ago, these procedures are performed more frequently to minimize the spread of infection.

Acosta said that the products housekeeping uses to clean and sanitize are designed to be cleaner and safer, using completely green products excluding when it does deep cleaning over the summer.

During extended breaks, such as the upcoming fall break, scheduled maintenances are done as needed. The summer is spent prepping the dorms for Welcome Week, and winter break is designated for more time-consuming projects, like carpet cleaning and stripping and waxing of floors.

While staff focuses on common areas, the main issue of the housekeeping staff is recycling and waste removal. Butler received a $25,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in 2007. Hamm said that this allowed housekeeping to improve the quality of recycling stations and management without assuming any additional labor costs.

Hamm also said that the staff handles around six pickup loads of trash for a single weekend, and the housekeeping staff is usually only about three members on weekends, when all it does is handle garbage removal.

When vandalism occurs over the weekend, it normally isn’t dealt with until the following Monday. Hamm said that if something does need to be reported immediately, residents can call Butler University Police Department’s dispatcher, who is available all the time and can then contact Roell and inform her of the situation.

Hamm said he is pleased with much-needed upgrades addressed in Butler’s Master Plan, such as additional dorm space and refurbishing, which will help improve housekeeping’s effectiveness.

Housing on Butler University’s campus needs an upgrade. Ranging from the silverfish in Schwitzer Hall, the dilapidated state of Ross Hall and the undeniably loud water heaters for the showers in Residential College, a little bit of improvement would go a long way.

Freshman definitely get the shortest end of the stick when it comes to housing at Butler.

President Jim Danko mentioned during his address to members of Student Government Association Assembly in the Oct. 5 meeting that he wants to improve the condition of housing on Butler’s campus, and I couldn’t agree more.

Sure, there is a certain charm to old housing. It has a homey feel and the idea that so much history happened within it.

It has its drawbacks, though.

Ask anyone who has lived in Schwitzer in the past few years.

It is my hope that President Danko takes the initiative to repair our residence halls. They don’t need to be torn down and rebuilt in a fashion so modern that the Jetsons would be confused, but they do need to be better maintained.

After all, living in less glamorous conditions makes students that much more grateful when they get to live in a nice apartment, or rent a swanky house.

When students look back on their dormitory days, they shouldn’t be appalled at the dilapidated quality of the buildings they once called home, even if only for a short period of time.

“I remember on one of my first tours, I walked into one of the dorms that was built in the 50s and I quickly realized that I was also built in the  50s,” Danko said at SGA. “I know I need to be worked on every now and then.”

If Schwitzer, Ross and ResCo were improved in even the slightest capacity, it would greatly improve the living experience for underclassmen at Butler.

Freshman and sophomore residence halls aren’t designed to be glamorous and, frankly, I don’t expect them to be. What I do expect is that the quality of life in freshman residence halls becomes a bit better. Sinks in Schwitzer should not back up when used too often, and the showers should provide a consistent temperature instead of being either toe-numbingly cold or scalding hot.

While living in the Apartment Village, it is strange to think back through my residence hall days. I’ve lived in Schwitzer, with its occasional silverfish sightings and shoddy bathrooms, then ResCo, with its convenient, yet unpredictable elevator, slightly bigger rooms and disturbingly small showers. Now I’m living in the Apartment Village, which has private rooms, a pantry and a shower that can double as a bathtub if I so desire.

The prospect of better residence halls for freshmen is exciting, even if I won’t get to experience the benefits.

Perhaps a new president can bring the kind of architectural change this university has needed for years.

Freshman students arrive at college eager to find a social footing. But an increasing number of freshmen living in Residential College may feel like they are left out of that experience.

The isolated location of their units from other freshman makes for  different experience than living in Ross Hall or Schwitzer Hall first- year ResCo residents said.

“First-year students want to get to meet as many people as possible, and that does not change between residence halls,” Cunningham said. “Students in ResCo just have to work a little harder.”

Because of the different circumstances, more pressure is put on the resident assistants to plan programs and events that get freshmen out and involved with other students.

ResCo Residence Life Coordinator Jeff Tyner said the situation “poses challenges for RAs,” adding that ResCo allows students to form more “close knit relationships.”

“It is important for RAs and their RLC to schedule programming,” said Karla Cunningham, director of residence life.

The number of freshmen in ResCo has fluctuated in recent years.

Last year, as Butler accepted its largest freshman class in university history, ResCo had between 80 and 90 first year students spread among the wings, making communication difficult to accomplish.

Freshman Steven Gianakas, a business major, said he feels socially limited living in Resco. Daniel Young, a freshman actuarial science and finance major said he agrees with Gianakas’ sentiment.

This year, with a smaller freshman class, the numbers have adjusted accordingly with about 40 first year students living in ResCo, all located in one unit.
This consolidation brings freshmen closer together.

“The freshman hall has their doors open a lot,” freshman arts administration major Mollie Ellis said. “I will see a door right across the hall open, know it is a freshman room and that is the first place I will go.”

In ResCo, the fire retardant doors automatically swing shut as a safety precaution, which contrasts the “open door” policy popular in Ross and Schwitzer.

In fact, it is common to pass through an entire upperclassman wing in ResCo without encountering a single open door.

But to prevent a disconnect between residents in the hall, students are able to keep doors open at all times at ResCo as per policy. Freshman ResCo residents said being allowed to keep doors open makes them feel closer to one another.

While not provided by residence life, students in ResCo are able to purchase door stops or use another object to keep their doors open, granted it does not cause damage to the door or the floor.

“It is a building code difference that indirectly affects the community,” Tyner said. “Most people like the privacy.”

Even with the closed doors, some freshmen find that living in Resco improves their social life tremendously.

“You make closer friends [here] instead of acquaintances,” first year pharmacy major Andrew Taschler said of living in ResCo compared to Ross or Schwitzer. “Size makes a difference.”

Freshman and Ross Hall resident Jacob Ready prefers seeing a larger pool of names and faces.

“Having an open door is a great way to meet people and strike up a conversation,” Ready said.

‘Writing on the doors is important since the doors are not always open,” said Emily Welch, RA for the freshman unit.

Welch passed out door stops to all of her residents and encouraged those who wanted more social activity to prop their doors open.