The benefits to residence hall living are myriad. Convenience, opportunities to develop life-long friendships, and most importantly, an environment that fosters educational and personal growth are just a few of those benefits.

It is the mission of the department to provide to residential students a living environment that offers support and assistance to maximize their educational opportunities. Our goal is to offer programs and services that promote challenge and academic and personal success; and we believe that the residence hall environment provides students a variety of enriching benefits that enhance the total college experience.

While living in an environment that is clean, safe, comfortable and affordable, students also benefit from the opportunity to learn about other cultures and lifestyles, from lifelong friendships and make lasting memories. The concepts of self-respect and respect for others, tolerance of and celebration of diversity, ethical behavior and personal growth are fostered via staff intervention, community-based educational and social programs and the expectation that hall residents hold one another accountable.

The convenience of living on campus provides students easy access to numerous campus resources such as faculty and academic advisors, the library, computer labs, residence hall cafeterias and other campus eateries, the health center, recreational facilities, and student organizations. Additionally, students have the opportunity to interact with university faculty outside the classroom by participating in a variety of campus-wide and residence hall programs. We believe that the benefits of on-campus living cannot always be measured quantitatively nor always immediately, but that those benefits often manifest themselves in surprising and significant ways, and that students will be grateful for the experience of having lived on campus.

The residence hall staff's main goals are to provide the residents with valuable information, create a positive community through educational programming, maintain a safe and high quality living environment and serve as a resource whenever a student has a question or concern. All halls are staffed with a resident director and several student resident assistants.

Kent State's Security Aide program is nationally recognized for excellence. Student security aides, attired in gold jackets, are in direct contact with the University Police Department via two-way radios. Every residence hall complex is patrolled from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. every day. The security aides receive 40 hours of intense training prior to assuming their duties. They learn CPR, first aid, fire prevention and emergency procedures. The most widely used service offered by the Security Aide program is the escort service. Security aides provide escorts anywhere on campus each night between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.

The RISC Office maintains six computer clusters at Kent State University. The computer labs are located in Tri-Towers, Twin Towers, McSweeney, Korb, Verder, and Allerton. The labs in Korb and Allerton are available only to the residents of that hall. All labs are open 24-hours and are monitored by cameras. All of the clusters have IBM Pentium III computers with 256 MB RAM and 17" monitors running Windows 98, Microsoft Office 97, Internet Explorer, and messaging applications.

University Food Services provides students dining options in five cafeterias located in Stewart Hall, Tri-Towers Rotunda, Prentice Hall, Eastway Center and the Kent Student Center. Daily menus can be accessed by dialing "FOOD" (3003) from any campus telephone or by going to www.dining.kent.edu. Every student receives a flashcard, which is accepted at all dining areas (if sufficient funds are on the student's food plan).

The Department of Residence Services provides every student living in the residence halls and Allerton Student Family Apartments the opportunity to use the residential network. ResNet provides in-room access to the internet and Kent State's computing resources. The necessary computer equipment to use ResNet can be purchased from and installed in your computer by RISC Office staff. Students using ResNet must agree to abide by Residence Service's Acceptable Use Policy, Virus Removal Fee Policy, and all university, local, state and federal laws and regulations regarding internet use.

The Department of Residence Services provides every student living in the residence halls or student family apartments the opportunity to use the ResTV Cable Television System. Students have the advantage of receiving over 45 channels of educational and entertainment programming from the comfort of their own residence hall rooms and apartments.

Campus Bus Service/PARTA is an integral part of Kent State. It provides transportation to students, including campus bus routes, and services for students with disabilities- Student Disability Transportation Services (SDTS). For more information go to http://www.partaonline.org/kent-circulator.html

Residence hall rooms contain uniquely sized, extra-long mattresses (36"x80"). While we hope the mattress size increases your overall comfort, regular sized sheets, mattress pads and comforters will not fit on our mattresses. To help you avoid frustration, the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) sells custom made linens for Kent State's specially sized mattresses. Orders will be taken until the beginning of August for the school year. Linens will be delivered to your home address. Please call 1-800-957-4338 for pricing and order information.

A Huskie Loft is an elevated twin bed designed to make your college room more usable by expanding its floor space. Lofts provide almost 45 square feet of additional floor space. It's like building a 5-foot by 9-foot addition to your room. For more information about pricing and Huskie Lofts, contact Huskie Lofts at 1-815-739-3740.

Microfridge features a microwave oven and compact refrigerator/freezer combination that offers convenience and cost effectiveness.