October 24, 2023

Welcome to the first issue of A Gaels Guide to Campus Living a weekly newsletter for residential students brought to you by the Office of Residential Experience and Campus Housing. Take a look each week for on campus living tips, reminders from Campus Housing (including details about health & safety checks and winter break housing), upcoming events, and Residence Hall spotlights!

On Campus Living Tip of the Week

3 Quick Tips for Handling Roommate Conflict

1. Engage in conversation and listen actively. Work through how you feel, what the specific problem is and what impact it is having on you. Use I-based statements to help do this.
2. Be specific. When problem solving be very specific. For example if you are using a roommate agreement to facilitate the discussion make sure that everyone fully understands each point written down. Clarify ambiguous terms that each person may interpret differently.
3. Use your resources. Sometimes conflict is difficult and you may need a neutral party to help facilitate a mediation. RAs are trained to help roommates work through their conflicts, though they won’t solve the problem for you. There is also a Resident Director, a professional staff member, who works and lives in your residence hall and can assist when things are particularly difficult.

Campus Housing

LOCKED OUT?

WHO TO CONTACT

* Contact your roommate/suite mates first*

Monday - Friday

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM | Campus Housing Office | Bottom Floor of Augustine

4:30 PM - 8:30 PM | Campus Safety | 925-631-4282

8:30 PM - 8:30 AM | Residential Advisor

Saturday-Sunday

Residential Advisor OR Campus Safety (925-631-4282)

There is no charge for your first lockout | Any subsequent lockouts are $25.00

Upcoming Events

Townhouse and Canyon Residents make sure to carve out some time for Halloween fun! All are invited to an RHA Trunk or Treat event on Thursday, October 26 at 5:00 pm in the Lower Rec Parking Lot for all Townhouse residents and the Canyon Parking Lot for Canyon residents. Grab a bag and mingle with RHA and Townhouse & Canyon Resident Advisors while collecting delicious Halloween candy !

You Belong with RHA on Friday, October 27 from 6-8 PM in the 1928 Pub for Taylor Swift Trivia and a 1989 (Taylor's Version) Album Listening Party! Join RHA for themed mocktails and cocktails, music, great trivia, friendship bracelets, and free Taylor Swift stickers! All residents are invited to attend!

Go big or gourd home with RHA and Central Campus residents for brunch and pumpkin painting on Sunday, October 29 starting at 12:00 pm in Ferrogiarro Quad! Bring your friends and paint a pumpkin while enjoying hot McDonald's McGriddle sandwiches.

Get ready for next Saturday | November 4

All Canyon and Townhouse residents are invited to Battle of the Halls hosted by RHA and Rec. Bring your friends and compete in both active and minute to win it type games!

The first 100 residents to register will receive a limited edition Battle of the Halls t-shirt that you can tie dye in your halls color! Raffle Prizes include SMC Gear! The winning hall will get a chance to win Disneyland Tickets!

Rec & RHA want to hear from you about Jan Term Programming!

Fill out this quick survey to share your thoughts on fun and exciting Jan Term activities.

Residential Reminders

Vintage Halls = Vintage Plumbing

With well loved vintage halls comes vintage plumbing. A reminder to please clean your shower drains on a regular basis to ensure drains are not clogged and water buildup does not occur. If you are missing a drain screen or need your drain to be cleared, please submit a work order.

Bug off! Effective ways to keep pests away

With the change in weather comes an increase in pests looking for warmth and food. When it comes to dealing with insects, prevention is always better! Some helpful tips include keeping your kitchen, dining, bathroom, and sleeping rooms clean. This looks like regularly taking out trash, properly storing food, and returning Oliver Hall dishes to collection containers or Oliver Hall promptly. Make sure to regularly vacuum your floor and clean up any spills. If you have concerns about pests in your space, make sure to submit a work order.

Moisture Mitigation

To mitigate moisture in the halls, please work to keep windows open (as much as possible) and fans running (especially in bathrooms). Residents are also encouraged to not over decorate external walls to decrease moisture buildup.

Oliver Hall dishes

GEC would like to remind residents that all reusable dishes and silverware should be returned directly to Oliver Hall. Dishes should not be left in hallways, next to internal or external doorways, or on top of trashcans. Let's all do our part to keep campus clean!

We want to know! Have you visited/purchased from Gael Goods this semester?

Need to get in touch?

Office of Residential Experience | reslife@stmarys-ca.edu | 925-631-4236

Campus Housing | housing@stmarys-ca.edu | 925-631-4241