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HOUSING HOW-TO

July 2019

Welcome Home! Welcome to residence at Saint Mary’s University! We

are excited you have chosen us as your home away from

home for the academic year.

When you first arrive, you may be excited, a bit

overwhelmed, relieved, or anxious. Any of those feelings

is normal. No matter how you feel, though, you will

quickly discover our professional Housing & Residence

staff, your Residence Assistant (RA), your Residence Service Officers (RSOs), and other

new and returning students, are here to support you and help you navigate your way

through this new adventure.

Your RA will have activities planned to help you make

new friends quickly and to assist you with getting

acclimatized to residence and our campus. You will

also be encouraged to participate in the Welcome

Week activities, which will support your transition to

university.

Living in residence can be the opportunity of a

lifetime: a chance to meet new friends, try exciting

activities, explore new experiences, and engage in challenging learning opportunities.

Our residence life program strives to support each student’s academic pursuits and we

have high expectations of our students with regard to their behavior and how it affects

others living in residence.

For all of you returning to residence, we are glad to have you back as you work

towards academic excellence while leading a well-rounded life. Enjoy the rest of your

summer and we look forward to seeing you all in September!

Sincerely,

Your Housing Team

• Preparing for

Residence

• Move-In Day

•

• Settling in on

Campus

Special Edition: The Move-In Guide

Yo

ur

gu

ide t

o:

Saint Mary’s University

Residence Life

@SMUResHfx

@SMUResLife

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Understanding your Room Number 4

Specialty Floor Types 5

Residence Pictures 6

What to Bring 7

Bed Sizes 7

Tips on Personalizing Your Room 8

Labour Day Weekend Shopping 8

Contacts for More Information 9

Preparing for Residence

This guide is divided into three sections: Preparing for Residence;

Move-In Day; and Settling in to Campus Life.

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Move-In Schedule & Key Pickup 10

Late Arrivals & No-Shows 10

Getting to Saint Mary’s 11

Parking on Move-In Day 12

Wi-Fi 13

ID Cards 13

Welcome Week 13

Laundry 14

Service Expo 14

Residence Alcohol & Cannabis Policies 15

Campus Dining 16

Move-In Day

TABLE OF CONTENTS CON’T

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PREPARING FOR RESIDENCE

LOYOLA

Sample number: 20-1-2a

Breakdown: 20 - The floor

1- The suite

2 - The room number (within the suite)

a - The bed space

So, if you’re Loyola 20-1-2a, you’ll be living on the 20th floor in the first suite,

in the second room. Your door will say “20.1.2”, so you’ll know you’re in the

right place!

Bed spaces go from left to right– if you’re assigned bed space “a”, you’re in the

left side bed. Note that your room number will still end in “a” even if you’re in

a single room.

Getting your room assignment in is an exciting, but potentially confusing

event – you’ve finally got some kind of number, but what does it mean?

Here’s a breakdown of your room number:

Understanding your Room Number

VANIER

Sample number: B2-1-2b

Breakdown: B- The house (Either A, B, C, or D)

2 - The floor

1- The suite number

2 - The room number

b - The bed space

So, if you’re in Vanier B2-1-2b, you’ll be living in Vanier B House on the second

floor, in the second room of the first suite, bed space b. Your door will say

“B2.1.2”, so you’ll know you’re in the right place!

Bed spaces go from left to right– if you’re assigned bed space “a”, you’re in the

left side bed. Note that your room number will still end in “a” even if you’re in

a single room.

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RICE

Sample number: 0204a

Breakdown: 02 - The floor

04 - The apartment

a - The room within the apartment

So, if you’re in Rice 0204a, you’ll be on the second floor, in the fourth

apartment, room ‘a’. Your apartment door will say 0204, and your bedroom

door will say A.

Specialty Floor Types We offer a number of different types of floors throughout residence to best

accommodate our students. These include alcohol-free floors, quiet floors,

and all –female or all-male floors.

If your floor isn’t listed here, then it’s a co-ed floor. (Also – quiet hours still apply

on non-quiet floors!).

Quiet All- Female All-Male Alcohol-Free

Loyola 04 ✓

Loyola 05 ✓ ✓

Loyola 09 ✓ ✓

Loyola 10 ✓

Loyola 12 ✓ ✓ ✓

Loyola 13 ✓

Loyola 14 ✓

Loyola 15 ✓

Loyola 19 ✓ ✓

Loyola 22 ✓

Rice 02 ✓

Rice 05 ✓ ✓

Rice 17 ✓

Vanier A3 ✓

Vanier B4 ✓

Vanier C2 ✓ ✓ ✓

Vanier D2 ✓ ✓

Vanier D3 ✓ ✓

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Residence Photos

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What to Bring Alarm clock

Microwave & mini fridge

Clothes & clothes hangers

Laundry basket & detergent

Pictures, posters & sticky tack

Pillows, bedsheets, and blankets

Plates, bowls & utensils

Shower supplies, toiletries & towels

Hand soap

Computer & TV

Warm winter clothes (jacket, boots, toque*)

* a toque is a Canadian winter hat

Although this isn’t a

complete list of

everything you’ll need, it’s

a good place to get

started with thinking

about what to pack.

There are a lot of packing

lists available online to

help you out as well!

Room Type Twin Twin Long Double

Loyola Single/Double ✓

Loyola Senior Apt Single ✓

Loyola Senior Apt Super ✓

Vanier Single/Double ✓

Vanier Senior Apt Single ✓

Vanier Senior Apt Super ✓

Rice Single/Double ✓

Rice Super Single ✓

Bed Sizes

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Tips on Personalizing Your Room

We want your to make your space feel like home, but there are some guidelines

on how you can do that! Residence does not allow the use of push pins, tacks,

staples, nails or any items of this nature when putting items up on the walls of your

room. Students should only bring items that can be put up on the walls using

Poster Putty or 3M Command Adhesive Hooks (See the Residence Handbook).

The use of any other type of two-faced tape products is not permitted. Poster

Putty and 3M Command Adhesive products are available from most stationary or

office supply stores. Magic-Mounts are available at the SMU Bookstore. Your

heavier items should be displayed free-standing on a shelf or desk top.

Students are reminded that putting up wallpaper or wallpaper borders is not

permitted within residence. Fire code requires that you not mount any type of

decorations on your room ceiling.

All residence room doors have been

outfitted with a message board for

students to use. These message boards are

to be used with dry-erasable markers only.

Halogen lamps are not permitted in

residence due to the high risk of fire if

material comes in contact with the halogen bulb. Candles are also not permitted.

Fire regulations prohibit the use of electrical kitchen appliances (hot plates,

toasters, toaster ovens, etc) in Vanier and Loyola Residences. Also, pets (including

fish), carpets or rugs are not allowed in Residence.

The Residence Handbook has a detailed list of prohibited items. Ask if unsure!

Labour Day Weekend Shopping

Halifax has Sunday Shopping. However, most stores have more limited hours than

their regular weekly hours. When you move into residence, we suggest that you

check the hours of any grocery stores,

convenience stores, malls, or other stores

you are visiting before you head out.

Please note: Monday, September 2, 2019 is

a national holiday (Labour Day). Therefore

stores, banks, and offices (including many

University offices) are typically closed until

Tuesday, September 3, 2019.

http://www.smu.ca/campus-life/residence-handbook.html

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Have more questions about preparing for residence? Try out the following options:

Housing & Residence Office (Loyola Residence 114)

If you have questions or concerns about specifics on topics such as your room

assignment, you can always email residence.housing@smu.ca! Be sure to

include your full name and A-number.

SMU Residence 2019-20 Facebook Group

Click the link above to find the Facebook group that will help link you to

your future floor members! It’s also a great place to find your RA and get

in contact with them; they’ll be more than happy to answer any of your questions

and tell you all about the details of living in residence!

SMU How2 Videos

The link above will take you to the SMU Residence YouTube channel. It

has all sorts of useful how-to videos for everything from applying for

loans to doing your laundry!

Ask a SMUdent

Check out Ask a SMUdent to get the answers to all your Saint Mary’s questions,

residence-related or not! Click the image below to browse previously asked

questions, or to ask your own question (anonymously!) and have it answered by a

current Saint Mary’s student.

Contacts for More Information

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Move-In Schedule & Key Pick-Up

MOVE-IN DAY

We want to make your move-in as convenient possible

with our 5-day move-in window! Keys will be available

as of 9:00am on Saturday, August 31, 2019.

Our friendly and helpful staff are available 24 / 7 so

that no matter what time you arrive, you will be able

to sign-out your keys and check-in to your room.

If you are moving into Rice or Vanier between 9:00am—3:00pm on the August 31

or September 1, 2019, you will pick up your keys at the Rice Security Desk.

Otherwise, please go to the Loyola Residence Desk to pick up your keys.

First Year Students are encouraged to move in August 31 or September 1, 2019, so

they can enjoy the many activities and events planned for Welcome Week!

Pick the date that works best for you. Remember that Welcome Week events begin

Saturday, August 31, 2019, and are only open to New SMU Student. Classes start

Wednesday, September 4, 2019.

*If you plan to arrive after 5:00pm on Wednesday, September 4 2019,

email us at residence.housing@smu.ca before August 30, 2019 with your

estimated arrival date. This will ensure you are not declared a No-Show!

Be sure to bring

photo ID to the

Loyola Desk when

picking up your keys!

Late Arrivals & No-Shows “No-Shows” are students who have confirmed their bed space in Residence by

returning their Residence Agreement and paying the Confirmation Deposit, but

who do not show up during the move-in period. If we have not heard from

students by 5:00pm on September 4, 2019 they will be declared No-Shows.

If you need to arrive later than 5:00pm on September 4, 2019 you must

notify us in order to hold / reserve your bed longer. Students who fail to

arrive by this deadline are automatically withdrawn from residence, their

Residence Agreement (Contract) is cancelled, and their $500 Confirmation

Deposit is absorbed by the University.

As such, if you will not arrive during the

normal move-in window, you must

ensure that you email us at

residence.housing@smu.ca before

August 30, 2019 with your specific

arrival date to inform us so that you

are not declared a No-Show.

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Getting to Saint Mary’s

By Car:

• Follow the Trans-Canada (Nova Scotia Highway 104) from New Brunswick or

Cape Breton.

• Take Exit 15 to get on Highway 102 South (careful: this is the only exit to

Halifax).

• Halifax is a pleasant 100 kilometre drive away (about an hour).

• Follow directions as described below to get from Highway 102 into the City.

For your GPS:

Rice & Vanier Residences:

5825 Gorsebrook Ave

Loyola Residence: 5865

Gorsebrook Ave

From Highway 102 South:

Once on Highway 102 South, stay in the right lane.

• The Highway forks off at Exit 5 which leads to Highway 118 and Dartmouth.

• The right fork is Highway 102.

• Continue along Highway 102 until it ends. It becomes Bayers Road in

Halifax.

• Just past the Halifax Shopping Centre, turn right onto Connaught Avenue.

• Continue along Connaught until you reach the end of the street. There you

will turn left onto Jubilee Road.

• Continue along Jubilee until you reach Robie Street where you will then turn

right.

• Take Robie to Inglis Street. Saint Mary’s will be to your left and in front of

you.

From the Airport:

• Follow the signs at the airport, to

Highway 102 South (Exit 6) and Halifax.

• It’s about 40 kilometres from the airport

to Saint Mary’s University.

For more detailed directions or alternative routes, type the address of your

residence (above) into a GPS or Google Maps!

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Parking on Move-In Day

No parking on streets

Parking

Off-Loading Zone (Important: When off-

loading vehicles in front of residences, there

must be someone with the vehicle)

Loyola Residence Desk (Key Pick-Up)

Rice & Vanier Key Pick-Up (9:00am to 3:00pm on

August 31, 2019 and September 1, 2019)

Remember: If you’re checking-in to Vanier or Rice between 9:00am and

3:00pm on August 31 or September 1, 2019, you can pick your keys up at

Rice Residence for your convenience. Outside of these date / hours, Vanier

and Rice keys will be available at the Loyola Residence Desk.

Keys for Loyola are available at the Loyola Residence Desk any time during

the move-in period.

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Wi-Fi

ID Cards

The wifi network you want to connect to in residence is called “SMU-RES-

WIFI”. The log-in information is your ‘S’ number and password.

If you’re having trouble with your ‘S’ number or if

you need more help with your computer or other

devices, feel free to drop by the ITSS helpdesk in

Loyola Academic or the Patrick Power Library!

Students who are new to the university are required to obtain an official

University Identification (ID) Card. Your official University ID card must be

presented to obtain the U-Pass (bus pass) and to activate a meal plan.

These cards also serve as library cards, allow access to The Homburg

Centre for Health & Wellness, and enable students to qualify for discounts

at some local businesses. There is no charge for the initial ID card.

First time students can obtain their photo ID as soon as they are registered

for classes! The library encourages students to get their ID card as soon as

possible to avoid the rush of Welcome week. If you’re in the city over the

summer, simply visit the library during regular hours of operation to have

your photo taken and receive your ID.

Returning students can have their ID cards validated at the Library as soon

as they are registered.

If you won’t be on campus until September, you can get your ID card and

all your passes at the Service Expo!

Welcome Weeks

This year’s Welcome Weeks events are currently in the making!

For more information, check back to the link below for updates:

http://www.smu.ca/campus-life/welcome-week.html

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Laundry

The Service Expo

Many departments and services on campus will be offering extra or modified

hours of operation during Move-In/Welcome Week to help students get

organized before classes start.

Some of the services available will include:

• Student ID Photos & Pick-Up

• U-Pass Pick-Up

• Meal Card Pick-Up

• Welcome Weeks Activities

• Homburg Centre Membership Activation

• Parking Permit Pick-Up

• Bookstore

Check out the Service Expo to get all of these tasks done in one go!

The Service Expo will be happening daily during Welcome Weeks.

Check out the Welcome Weeks schedule for more details!

http://www.smu.ca/campus-life/welcome-week.html

Laundry is one of those facts of life—it has to get done some time or anoth-

er! There are two laundry rooms in Residence for your convenience: one

on the 2nd floor of Loyola, and the other in Henn Alley, between Vanier D

House and Rice.

Laundry cards can be purchased and loaded using a debit or credit card in

the Loyola lobby—no change required! Each load in the washer and the

dryer cost $2.00. Don’t forget your soap!

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Residence Alcohol Policy The Residence Department promotes a safe living environment within the

Residence community with respect to alcohol use based on education and

enforcement. Our residents and guests have an obligation to make legal and

responsible decisions regarding the use of alcohol which comply with the

Residence Liquor Policy and the Nova Scotia Liquor Control Act. More details

regarding the policy are outlined in the Residence Handbook. Here are some key

points you need to know:

• Underage drinking (under 19 years of age) is prohibited within residence.

• Students may consume alcohol in their rooms/apartments and in floor

common lounges only.

• Open alcohol may be transported between rooms on a floor only if:

• Open alcohol is not permitted to leave the floor by any means and is

prohibited in elevators, elevator lobbies and stairwells.

• Alcohol can be transported off of the floor if it is:

• Drinking games and large quantities of alcohol are not permitted.

• Sealed in its original container & carried in a non-transparent bag

(i.e. reusable grocery bag, backpack, paper bag, etc).

• Sealed in aclosed original container & carried in an unopened case

• It is in a non-glass container (plastic mug or cup, with lid)

• It is not consumed while transporting

Cannabis is a prohibited item in residence. Any and all consumption, use,

possession, production, and/or propagation of cannabis or cannabis-

related products is prohibited in our residences / residence

complex.

This includes ALL areas in residence–there are no exceptions.

Residence Cannabis Policy

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Meal Plans

Check out more information about meal plans here!