 "Photo: Cassini Nazir")
Web pages for the freshmen residence hall (RH) went live Oct. 1, revealing a few surprises, such as a required meal plan for freshmen.
Tentative meal plan details and pricing debuted on the site along with a student-narrated short video which presents architect's renderings and artist's sketches as a virtual tour. A live webcam trained on the residence hall construction site offers an up-to-the-minute view to a build.
The residence hall, located on Rutford Avenue west of the Arts and Technology Building, along with a dining facility west of the Student Union, are slated to open for fall 2009.
Three RH residents will live in a suite, sharing a common area and restroom, but each student will have a private room, according to Director of Housing Operations Matt Grief.
None of the suites have kitchens. RH freshmen will be required to purchase meal plan A, B, C or D, ranging in price from $1,414 to $1,585. The "Board A" plan is the most expensive, offering unlimited of "all you care to eat" meals throughout the semester, Grief said. Board plans B , D and F will permit students to pay for a guest at lunch, and meals per week plans C and E limit a student to a predetermined number of meals each week, which cannot be used for a guest.
Freshmen living in the University Village Phase VIII apartments will also be required to purchase a meal plan. Phase VIII residents are the only students eligible to purchase $995 Board E and F plans.
Grief said rent for a room in a 4 bedroom UV suite next fall is expected to be $452 per month, up from $426 per month this semester. RH rent is expected to run $562 per month, and includes furnishings (bed, desk, dresser, nightstand, chair and common area seating).
Time Warner cable internet and utilities. WiFi internet access will also be available in suites.
Grief said the pricing has been approved by UTD President David Daniel and will become official pending approval by the UT System Chancellor.
The residence hall will house 384 freshmen and 16 peer advisers. Half of those first-year students will belong to living-learning communities (LLC), said Mary Jane Suarez Partain, assistant director of LLCs
Three LLCs, including pre-health, management and engineering and computer science, are currently based in UV buildings 58 and 59 and will move to the new facility in fall 2009, Partain said. Three new LLC programs - multicultural, music and arts and technology - will be added.
Student affairs web developer Cassini Nazir worked with Grief and Vice President for Student Affairs Darrelene Rachavong to get the site ready for prospective freshmen submitting applications this fall.
See the new pages at www.utdallas.edu/residencehall.
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