Residence Life & Student Housing

RESIDENCE LIFE & STUDENT HOUSING

Residence Hall Services

On Call Staff Members

Residence hall staff will be on call nightly, from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. The staff member on call will make rounds, provide lockout service, check public areas, enforce University policies, and assist with building security. To contact the on call staff member, call the “duty line” listed on your room phone or posted in your residence hall.

Area Desks

There are two Area Desks on campus that serve the residence hall community. The South Area Desk is in McElvaney Hall and serves McElvaney, Morrison-McGinnis, Cockrell-McIntosh, Perkins, Smith, Moore, Martin and Hawk. The North Area Desk is located in Virginia-Snider Hall and serves Boaz, Mary Hay, Peyton, Shuttles, Virginia-Snider, and the Service House. The Area Desks are open daily from 8:00 a.m.– Midnight during the academic year.

Services available include: lock-out service, change machine, parcel deliveries (packages, flowers, etc.), resident telephone directory service, maintenance repair requests, bicycle locker rental, and US mail pick-up (Monday-Friday only).

Bike Stands and Covered Storage

Outside bicycle stands may be used by residents to secure their bicycles. Covered storage for bicycles is available for free as space permits at the McElvaney Area Desk. Residents may not keep bicycles, mopeds, or motorcycles inside or around the entrance areas of residence halls. (The only exception is for non-motorized bicycles over Winter Break when the room is unoccupied.) Residents should register their bikes with SMUPD.

Custodial Services

SMU custodians are responsible for cleaning common space and bathrooms in residence halls. Common areas are cleaned on a scheduled basis, Monday through Friday. Suite-style baths are cleaned weekly on a rotating schedule. Custodians also provide limited cleanup of bathrooms and respond to obvious needs on weekends. Custodians are not responsible for cleaning resident rooms.

Deliveries

Deliveries are not permitted directly to a resident’s room. When ordering food or other delivery service, residents should give their phone number to the vendor. Delivery personnel must call from the courtesy phone outside the Hall upon arrival. Residents must pick up the delivery at the building entrance.

Deliveries such as flowers or Federal Express may be made to the Area Desks. Residents will be called to pick up the delivery. Most packages must be mailed to your Campus Mail Box in the Hughes-Trigg Center.

Keys/Lock Changes

Each resident receives a key to his or her room or suite upon check-in. Misplaced or lost keys should be immediately reported at the Area Desk, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. When a student loses his/her room key, the cost of a lock change ($35, $45 or $65) is posted to the student's account and the lock is changed the next working day. Loan keys are available at the Area Desk for a $5.00 charge in the event of a lockout, misplaced, or lost keys. If a loaned key is not returned within one hour, it will be assumed the original key is lost, the lock will be changed and the cost will be charged to the student account.

A replacement key will be given, at no additional charge, in the event of a broken key. The broken key must be returned at the time the replacement is made, or it will be presumed lost, a lock change will be made, and the cost of a lock change ($35, $45 or $65) is charged to the student account.

Lock-Outs

Residents who are locked out of their room may go to the Area Desk and check out a key on a temporary basis. This requires ID and there is a $5.00 fee for each lock-out, effective September 1. Residents may also request a hall staff member to let them into their room. This service is also $5.00 per lock-out. Lock-out fees are charged to the student's account.

Mail Box Service at Hughes-Trigg

All residence hall students are required to have an SMU post office box at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. The $60 non-refundable annual mailbox fee is included in the Fall semester residence hall rent. The mailbox fee provides one year of mail service, beginning August 2004 through August 2005 (academic year and summer term).

Students newly assigned for the Spring semester will be charged a $40 non-refundable fee when assigned. This provides mail service for the remainder of the academic year and summer term (January through August).

New residents may pick up their mailbox number and box combination in person at the SMU Post Office. For questions, please call the SMU Post Office at (214)768-4450. Residents must renew their box at the Post Office each Fall semester or the mailbox will be assigned to another student.

The mailing address (using your mailbox number in place of XXXX) is:
Name
3140 Dyer Street
PO Box 75XXXX
Dallas, TX 75275-XXXX

Maintenance Services

Residents may submit requests for maintenance by using a maintenance request form or by sending an e-mail to fixit@mail.smu.edu. All requests must include the resident’s name & phone number, hall and room number and the description of the work requested. Please explain the problem in detail.

Maintenance requests are handled according to priority. Emergency and critical areas are given top priority. Non-critical requests are handled in the order in which they are received. Maintenance requests which are made late in the day or on weekends may not receive attention until the following workday. In case of a repair that needs immediate attention, contact a Hall Staff member, the Facilities Manager or the Area Desk.

On-campus Directory Information

Resident student phone numbers are listed at the Residence Hall Area Desks. The Desk Assistant can give out phone numbers, but not building or room assignment information. Other SMU directory information is available from the SMU operator during business hours, Monday-Friday.

Outdoor Barbeque Grill

An outdoor barbeque grill adjacent to McElvaney and Morrison-McGinnis Halls may be used by residents and can be reserved at the South Area Desk. Policies concerning grill use can be found on the grill and are available at the South Area Desk.

Overnight Guests

Guests may stay in a resident's room with advance permission of roommates and suitemates. Guests are not permitted for the first two weeks or last two weeks of a semester. Guests are limited to 3 nights per week unless approved in advance by the roommate, suitemates and the Hall Director. Residents must accompany their guest within the residence hall at all times. Guests may not stay overnight in any public area of the residence halls. A limited number of guest rooms are available on campus. To arrange for the use of a guest room, contact the RLSH office at 768-4041.

Phone & Telecommunication Services

A telephone with voicemail service is provided in each residence hall room. Personal telephones will not work on-campus. Residents should set up their voice mailboxes as soon as possible and personalize their password. A tutorial program is heard the first time an extension is dialed into the system. (Instruction booklets are available at the Area Desks).

Each phone jack has a “data” line for computer hookup. Residents who wish to use this free service should contact the Telecommunications Department. Modems will not work and may cause damage to the phone system. Further information can be found in the telecommunication brochures. Problems with the telephone should be reported to the Telecommunications at 768-HELP.

Vacuums & Other Equipment

Vacuums and other equipment are available for resident use. Some residence halls have a VCR, pool equipment or games which may be checked out from the staff. Residents must present an ID before checking out any equipment. Refer to the Hall Information Sheet for information specific to your building.