Roommate Relationships: Hit or Miss:New students anxiously wait on the first day of college to meet the roommate the housing office paired them with.

To Stay or Not to Stay: There comes a time in every college student's life when he must make a decision that could make or break his college experience-to stay or not to stay on campus.

ROC Fest: Dates and times for ROC Fest 2009 (residents on campus) have changed and were announced during the Residence Hall Association's Thursday night meeting in Thomas Hall.
ROC Fest will be the week of Sept. 28 and the theme this year is "rockin' through time."

Upscale dining adds Sunday to its services: As word travels around campus, Reservation Only Dining expects to be booked at full capacity for the campus' "upscale" dining experience. Now, with an additional day added to its hours, RO expects to become even more popular.

Stopping Spread of Germs: Eastern has made an effort in lowering the risk of illness transmission by increasing the supply of hand sanitizers on campus.

On-Campus Employment Helps Students: With the current economy, on-campus job availabilities have become scarce. Mark Hudson, director of university housing and dining services, said applications are stacked up without any hope of jobs becoming available this year. Housing and Dining employs about 810 students in the resident halls and food courts, with a student employee payroll of about $2 million, Hudson said.

Dining Changes Good for Students: Housing and Dining Services completed a survey last fall to ask students what changes they would like to see with the operation of the dining centers. More than half of the surveys came back with a desire for more serving hours so students could have more times to eat.

Dining halls Overhaul Hours: Students eating in the dining halls will notice an increase in the hours and food options available in the dining centers across campus from last year. University Housing and Dining Services added an additional 21.5 hours of operation throughout the week. Hours were extended at all dining halls and at restaurants in Martin Luther King Jr.

Artist Reveals Andrews Portrait: Mark Hudson, director of University Housing and Dining Services, received an e-mail in 2001 that a family member of Franklin Andrews was wondering where his portrait was located in Andrews Hall. Because of the e-mail, he has been fortunate enough to research the various residence halls' namesakes, including Andrews Hall, Hudson said.

Pemberton Hall Continues Time Capsule Tradition: A letter and a beer stein were some of the few items found in a time capsule buried by the Pemberton Hall residents in 1979. Now, current residents of the hall will continue the tradition and bury a time capsule of their own around 1:15 p.m. on Sunday on the east side of the building.

National Hall Honorary Service Proud of its Top Leaders: Members of the National Residence Hall Honorary service organization are considered to be in the top 1 percent of campus leaders, and set out to make residence halls a better place to live.

Students Feed on Finals Feast: The 2008 Finals Feast held in Taylor Hall Sunday night brought students together to feast on macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, make-your-own trail mix, ice cream sundaes, fruits and vegetables. This year's theme was "Home for the Holidays" an event which offered students free food served to them by faculty and administration members.

Bringing Back Pemberton Memories: At first glance, Pemberton Hall looks like a bulwark of stone - gray and somber like most buildings. The building was the first women's residence hall in Illinois, earning it a spot on the state's Historic Register. Charles H. Coleman, a former Eastern history professor, recorded Pemberton's history in his book, "Eastern Illinois State College, 50 years of Public Service," published in 1950.

Residence Hall Offers Unique Meal Choices: Mark Hudson said the number one goal of the housing and dining program is to meet the students' needs. Hudson, the director of housing and dining services, said the university sends out residence hall satisfaction surveys to about one-third of students to get their opinion on their housing and dining experience.

Exclusive Services for On-Campus Residents: Computer Help Desk and Virus Labs Having computer problems? We can help! Call the Help Desk at 217-581-7708 or stop by the Virus Labs in Carman, Taylor or Stevenson Halls for assistance. Direct Internet access On-campus residences feature Ethernet ports which allow residents the luxury of being directly connected to the university's network.
residents.

Upperclassmen presence in residence halls stable: This year, 1,206 upperclass students live on campus.Stevenson Hall, a resident living hall, can house approximately 370 students. After the 10-day room period, 220 students are assigned in Stevenson, making Stevenson the hall with the most upperclass
residents.

Beat the economy, consider living on campus: Being on campus provides quick access to the Booth Library and various building computer labs, not to mention social activities such as athletic games and the various register student organizations that meet in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

A handy new way to punch in to work: The Scout is a biometric hand reader that reads key points on each individual's hand.
When a worker places their hand in the Scout, it recognizes their pre-programmed handprint and records the time they clock in and out for work.

New Lincoln Hall laundry room scheduled to open in October: During the summer, Eastern renovated Lincoln Hall and is still in the process of upgrading a new laundry room in the basement.

Douglas Hall: "Summer renovations may change vote" . More than 3 million dollars was spent on the renovations that include new carpet, stackable furniture, a new fire alarm system in every room and an electrical power upgrade. The area consists of seven private bathrooms in one common space. Each private bathroom has a toilet, sink and shower.

Pemberton Hall : "Bringing back Pemberton memories", In 1909 Pemberton Hall became the first residence hall for women in Illinois. This year the EIU Alumni Association will bring back past residents of Pemberton Hall during Homecoming weekend to celebrate.

Paige fills interim position: Robyn Paige's career goal when she came to Eastern in 2004 for her master's degree in college student affairs was to become the director of fraternities and sororities on a college or university campus. Three years later Paige is fulfilling that goal after being offered the position of interim director of fraternity and sorority programs on May 2. She officially began her duties in the position on July 1 when she took office.

Housing Staff is recognized: Several members of Eastern's housing staff received prestigious awards at this year's Great Lakes Association of College and University Housing Offices.

Clean Access for Computer Network: Eastern has invested in a program to protect the entire campus computer network.

Survey Shows Students Can Get Satisfaction: Surveys conducted by University Housing and Dining Services reveal students' satisfaction with their housing has progressed since 2002.

Eastern Named School of the Year: At the conference, the national communications coordinator from each of the 58 schools that attended voted based on a previous question and answer session. Eastern won by more than 50 percent of the votes.

Residence Halls Help Promote Academics: The objective is to have professors meet with their students and develop a relationship beyond the classroom.

Students Served a Celebrity Dinner: Hungry students filled Taylor Dining Hall Sunday night not just for supper, but to also see Eastern administrators serve them food.

Surveys Prompt Dining Changes: Student feedback received in 2004 through surveys conducted by the University Housing and Dining Services have helped bring about changes for the fall 2006 semester.