Welcome to University Housing and Dining Services

Hi everyone. I think it's time we get started. I wanted to let some more people join in. Thank you for joining us for our first new student insight session. Today we're going to be talking about university housing and dining services. So I am Emily Robinson. I'm the marketing communications intern here with housing and I'm also a senior public communications student at UV. Today you'll be hearing from me as well as Kate Carr who is the senior marketing director at dining services and Don Aubrey the vice president of hospitality at dining services. So our agenda today we're going to talk about who we are housing services dining services and then we're going to have a Q&A session at the end. So let's talk about who we are as housing services. At UHDS, we are committed to transforming the residential experience by educating students by engaging with the community, creating an enriching and supporting learning environment, promoting academic success, community development, and personal growth. We strive to create an unparalleled student experience focused on greater student success. And our programs are built on student success and satisfaction, community relationships, financial stewardship. Our team strives to provide quality customer service in all aspects of our departmental duties. So today's session, we're going to introduce you to all things housing and dining from residential living to dining options. We're here to support you through this time of change and to elevate your on-ampus experience. So today's session is being recorded and will be available on the new student insight session page on our website. Our upcoming sessions will be there as well as other past sessions. So, let's talk about housing services. So, what are the benefits of living on campus? Building connections with other students. A majority of the friends that I made my first year were through where I lived and just seeing people on a daily basis, whether that be in the dining hall, at events, just hanging around outside. Um, you have close proximity to on-ampus events such as the big springfest every year, which they do like a little concert on the green. Super fun and easy to get to when you live on campus. You have close proximity to learning community events around campus, whether that be in your own learning community, somewhere else, something you're interested in. Super easy to get around. Um, you have many on-ampus support systems and then easy access to dining halls and other amenities such as the buses that go around campus every day. You're close to the data center which has things like the career center, dining options, you know, just places to hang out, pool tables, and you're pretty close to the gym. Whether you want to work out or you want to catch one of the sports games, it's all pretty much right there. You also have easy access to involvement. It's pretty easy to get to different clubs on campus and go to different events, anything like that. So, let's talk about learning communities. All first year residence halls are part of a different learning community. Each learning community is built around a shared theme and offers events, activities, and programs related to that theme. Dedicated staff and student leaders help plan these experiences, giving students opportunities to connect and with others who share similar interests, explore new ideas, and build meaningful relationships both inside and outside the classroom. Events range from the wellness environment who does a 5K every 420 or sustainability learning community that does an earthfest every year or some learning communities just have something as simple as a hot chocolate night. And make sure to connect with your learning community on Instagram. They all have their own page where they share the events that they're doing. So we have eight learning communities here at UVM and I was a part of arts and creativity living in Macau Hall my first year and my second year I was a part of outdoor experience living in Korge Hall and some of my favorite memories were from the different learning community events that I you know went to and I met all these new people had these new experiences and it really made my first year and did you know that learning community events are open to all students regardless of where they live so if you live in Macaulay Hall but you're super interested in what's going on over at sustainability that day. You're welcome to head over and attend their event. So, we have learning community summer reading books. So, each learning community gets its own book selection related to something about their learning community. So, after experience gets a local Vermont author, a book about how to love a forest. And each learning community student um should have an email with a free copy of their learning communities ebook. You get a little voucher for it. And when you come to campus during orientation, you can enjoy a faculty-led small group discussion about the book. And if you have any questions about your community read book, feel free to contact John Sama, the coordinator of academic integration, and his email is right there. And last, honors college, impact scholars, STEM scholars, trailblazers also have a book selection. So it's not just the learning communities. All the partner housing have a book as well. So what are some roommate resources? Uh join UVM on Zimi if you haven't already. It's the perfect platform to connect with your future classmates, roommates, anything like that before you arrive on campus. And roommate agreements. So, roommate agreements are documents in the housing portal that outline shared responsibilities, expectations, and rules for cohabitation. And roommate agreements are the first step to dealing with roommate conflicts. So, if by chance you need a room change due to a roommate conflict, you cannot switch your room without having a roommate agreement. So, that is really the first step when you move in, when you have time to sit down, write out your expectations with your roommate to make sure that you have a successful year together. And you want to make sure you're utilizing your RAs. RAs play a pivotal role in creating a connected residential community, especially when navigating roommate relationships. And RAS are there to help you with, you know, roommate conflicts, conflicts with people on your floor. And they help you connect to every resource you need on campus. So, how do you get involved with us and how can you connect with us? We offer a lot of student jobs such as resident adviserss, front desk staff, communications internships like the one that I have. And we also have learning community program assistants. And that photo right there is some of our summer interns from last summer. We have a whole bunch of fun, you know, super fun time. Um, you can also join the resident engagement council, which is also known as wreck. You'll see most people around campus call it wreck. It's a student-ledd organization that creates opportunities for connection, leadership, development, and community engagement while enhancing the residential experience here at UVM. And the best way to connect with us is to follow us on Instagram at UVM Housing. We post updates as much as we can with different events going on, deadlines, and just fun things that we want to share with you guys. Preparing for move in. So, what should you do before arriving to campus? Connect with your roommates. It's always great to discuss what you're bringing so you're not bringing two of the same things. And it's also great to just get to know your roommate a little bit before you move in because it always makes it a little less awkward on move in day and gives you some more time to really just get to know each other and share the space without having to do those first pillows. And make sure you double check your move in date and time in the housing portal. Your time has been communicated with you already. And if that time does not work, please reach out to housing as soon as possible. The days for move in this year are going to be Wednesday, August 26th and Thursday, August 27th. And we would also like you to review what to bring and like what not to bring. So if you visit our fall 2026 movein guide page on our website, it should give you, you know, all the steps that you need to take before you move in and make sure that you know what you're bringing. And also check out our hallways handbook for detailed information on what not to bring and what the rules or regulations look like because we want to make sure that you're all situated safely before coming to campus. I know many of you are probably wondering what your room looks like inside. I know that's all I could think about, but we have this lovely virtual tour option where you can see your room before you arrive. So, it's a 3D walkthrough tour and you get to see what your room looks like. You can explore your entire building, look through the bathroom situation, look through the common areas, kitchens, everything like that you're able to do on that website. If you scan the QR code right there, you're able to get to our virtual tours. And a really great feature that the virtual tours have is a measurement mode. So, that if you want to know any of the measurements within your space or of the bed, anything like that, you can put it in measurement mode and get those measurements. So, what is actually in your room? Each student is provided with a desk, a chair, a dresser, a twin XL mattress and bed frame, and a bed safety rail. Each room is also equipped with an overhead light, an internet jack, recycling bin, and window blinds or shades. So, we have a little list here of what we think is really important that you bring, including bedding, a small trash can, shower shoes, laundry supplies, hangers, a shower caddy, toiletries, towels, a fan, disposable cutlery, storage containers, first aid kit, cleaning supplies, personal documents, and a surge protector with an automatic onoff switch. And if you're looking for any sort of like room inspiration, um, we made a Pinterest board if you want to scan that QR code to just get some ideas flowing. All right, so we have two more summer sessions including your guide to move in day with UHDS and then meet your RA Hall staff and learning community team which is on August 13th. and keep an eye on your email and also on the UVM housing Instagram account as we're going to post the links for these as we get closer to those dates. So, next we will hear from dining and due scheduling conflicts. These sections have been pre-recorded, but the information is still as good as you need. So, >> hey Emily, I just wanted to uplift. We did get a question in our Q&A feature um that is about housing and I know we also have Max on who might be able to answer as well, but I just want to uplift that. Is a triple in u Heights big enough to allow all three beds to be lofted is the question. >> Yes, it is. Okay, so that's yeah, it should be big enough to loft every bed. Um, the virtual tour option would be great for that as well, just to see your exact room and what the space looks like. >> Hello, it's my pleasure to speak with you this evening. My name is Don Aubrey. I am the vice president of hospitality for University Dining Services. We are your university dining experience where everyone flourishes and belongs. Your home away from home, your source of onampus nourishment, your kitchen and pantry. We know starting college can be filled with so many new details. So, let's make exploring, navigating, and connect with dining services one less thing to stress about. We're excited to welcome you into our spaces. I'll pass it off to Kate Carr, our senior marketing director, to dive deeper into dining. Hi everyone. We're going to walk through the most important things to know about dining on campus. You've already selected your meal plan. Now, all you need to do is make sure you have your CAT card because that's where your meal plan is loaded. And your CAT card serves as your dining pass. UVM has four all you care to eat dining halls. central campus dining, athletic dining, north side dining, and redstone dining. To access the dining hall, students can use their CAT card to enter using a meal swipe, or pay the door price using retail points, cat scratch, or a credit or debit card. Dining halls are great for building community and feel the most like dining at home. They're a place to meet up with friends or even have solo study time. You swipe in once and can stay as long as you like. Once inside, you'll find a variety of options like soup, salad, deli sandwiches, girl items, global dishes, plant-based meals, and more. Each dining hall has a slightly different layout and vibe, but they all offer vegetarian, vegan, and allergen-friendly options. We also have 12 retail dining locations across campus, some of which are operated by local partners, and they offer plenty of variety in your day-to-day dining. You can think of our retail locations as a dining out experience, and they're great places to go for a graband go or order ahead items. At our retail dining locations, you can get things like Indian barbecue at Chula, lattes from Campus Park, crepes from Skinny Pancake, burritos, sushi, snacks, and more. You'll scan your cat card at checkout to pay with your retail points or cat scratch, or you can use your credit or debit card. At retail locations, you'll enter, walk in, pick up your items, and pay at the register. Order at the counter or use mobile ordering, your our mobile ordering app to grab your meal from a pickup station. Let's break down a few key a few of the key terms you'll hear a lot when it comes to dining. Knowing these will help you navigate your meal plan and dining options. A meal swipe gives you entry to any of our four dining halls. You'll swipe your CAT card at the entrance and then you're free to enjoy any of the stations inside. Whether you're sitting down for a full meal or grabbing something to go with Egoare, if you're on an all access or all access plus plan, you'll have unlimited swipes. Retail points are like dining dollars, and each point is valued at $1. So, if your order is $10, then 10 points are deducted from your plan. Guest meals work just like a meal swipe, but it's meant for when you have a friend or family visiting. UVM offers four on-ampus meal plans and each is designed to support different eating styles, schedules, and preferences. The all access plan gives you unlimited access to our four dining halls, plus 150 points and three guest swipes. You can swipe in as many times as you like, whether it's for a full meal, a snack, or just to grab something to go with EcoAware. The All Access Plus plan includes everything the All Access plan uh has to offer with more retail points and guest meals. It's a great option for students who want the flexibility to grab coffee, snacks, or meals from our retail locations in addition to unlimited dining hall access. The Flex plan offers a balance between dining halls and retail. It includes 160 meal swipes per semester, which is about 10 per week and 900 retail points. It's ideal for so for students who want variety and flexibility, but it does require a bit of budgeting. We provide balance cards at cashier stations to help students track their usage and avoid running out too soon. The retail points plan is designed for students who live on campus but prefer to eat mostly at our retail locations. It includes only 50 swipes, but 1750 retail points and three guest meals. A few important things to know is that meal swipes and guest meals expire at the end of each semester. Uh the points included on your meal plan roll over from fall to spring, but they expire at the academic at the end of the academic year. If you add extra points on your own, those don't expire as long as you're enrolled at UBM. If the meal plan you selected doesn't suit your needs for whatever reason, you can switch your meal plan during the first two weeks of the semester. Visit our dining plan options page on our website to review your options and their costs. Once you've decided, complete the meal plan switch form, which is manage managed by the university housing team, and the form can be found in the quick link section of our website. You can only submit the form once per semester, so make sure you know which plan you want before submitting. Unless you tell us otherwise, the meal plan you're on at the end of this fall semester will automatically renew for spring and be built accordingly. You can also choose to change your meal plan within the first two weeks of the spring semester. Okay, now we can get into an overview of our locations. Here's a campus map that shows our four dining halls or all you care to eat dining locations conveniently spread across campus to make it easy for students to eat no matter where they live or where their classes are. You can scan the QR code for the interactive map of our dining locations. Let's take a closer look at our dining halls. Each are all you care to eat locations with a wide variety of fresh, flavorful options every day. Central Campus Dining is located right in the heart of campus and is a favorite for its open rustic style stations and diverse menu. Whether you're craving comfort food or something plant-based, you'll find it here. Athletic dining is located on the athletic campus and is known for its variety convenience and for being a favorite hangout spot for sports teams and clubs due to its proximity to Gutson Fieldhouse, Patrick Gym, and Virtue Field. Redstone dining is located on Redstone campus. The dining hall is the go-to for students who live on Redstone campus and also has a wide variety of options um with fresh, flavorful uh choices every day. North Side Dining is located on Trinity campus and offers both dining in and to go options, making it a flexible choice for busy days. Here's a campus map that shows our retail dining locations. They're mainly concentrated on central campus and in the Davis Center, but there are retail locations spread across campus. Our retail dining locations offer a wide variety of options, perfect for grabbing a quick bite between classes or enjoying a meal with friends. On the first floor of the Davis Center inside Brennan, you'll find the Halal Shack, which serves global street food inspired by Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors with halal certified ingredients. On the second floor of the Davis Center, you'll find the Marketplace, which has fresh, customizable meals and sweet treats, all in a central, easy to access location. Inside the marketplace, you'll find Vermont Burger Co. where you can build your own burger, always with local beef or local plant-based patty. In the living living and learning complex, you'll find the University Maret, which features multiple stations with something for everyone. You can get things like made to order bagels, sandwiches, burritos, and personal pizzas. New to the March is Chula, serving Indian barbecue with halal chicken, and they have options that are vegetarian, vegan, and made without gluten. Some of the local restaurants we work with include Skinny Pancake, New World Tortilla, and Broccoli Bar. You can visit our website for a detailed look at the retail dining location options on campus. Meal exchange is a special perk available to onampus uh dining plan holders only. It allows you to use two meal swipes per week, Monday through Friday, at select retail dining locations. Instead of swiping into a dining hall, you can use a meal swipe at a participating retail spot to get a combo meal, typically an entree and a drink. Meal exchange swipes reset every Monday and do not roll over. So, it's use it or lose it every week. You can use meal exchange at Green Deli and Salads, University Maret after 8 and after 8:00 p.m., the L Shack, and Jamal's Chicken. Now that we've gone over all the dining options on campus, here's a quick look at all of our dining location listed by campus. No matter where you are, you're never far from something delicious. We understand that some students on campus have allergies, intolerances, special dietary needs, or are simply seeking nutritional guidance. If that's true for you, we encourage you to connect with Ana, a registered dietitian, before you arrive on campus or once you're settled in. She works one-on-one with students to help navigate dining safely and also to set up additional accommodations if needed. You can send an email or use the QR code on screen to um to book a meeting with Anya. We know that some students for some students having access to food that aligns with their religious beliefs is import an important part of feeling at home on campus. We have a dedicated kosher kitchen at Redstone dining offering hot kosher dinner starting at 5:30 Sunday through Thursday while supplies last. They also prepare kosher meals sold throughout our detail retail dining locations. The Halal Shack and Jamal's Chicken Inside Brennan's are home to dedicated halal kitchens. We also offer special dining options during religious holidays throughout the year and work closely with student groups and campus partners to share those details in advance. We offer several options to support students with food allergies and dietary needs. Simple Servings located in central campus and athletic dining offers plated meals free of gluten and top eight allergens prepared separately by trained chefs. Simply Through at Red Stern Dining offers food free of gluten, nuts, and milk and is also plated and prepared in a separate area. Simple zone found in all the dining halls is a self-service pantry free of gluten, peanuts, and tree nuts. It also has made to order hot food item hot food menu available upon request. Many UVM students are vegetarian, vegan, or just enjoy plantforward menu items. We have a wide variety of options available at all locations. We use these menu icons online and on our printed signage to help you. We have three dedicated vegetarian stations on campus called Grown, which are available daily at central campus dining, athletic dining, and redstone dining. On weekdays, you can visit the broccoli bar in the marketplace for vegan meals, or stop by Chula for the vegetarian and vegan options. At UVM, we believe in making choices that are good for our bodies, our community, and the planet. That's why sustainability is a big part of what we do. From local sourcing ingredients to reducing waste, we're proud to be a leader in this space. We know many students care about where their food comes from, and so do we. Vermont First is our local purchasing program that highlights our commitment to buying local and regional foods. We purchase food from over a 100 Vermont farmers and producers, including UVM's Proctor Maple Research Center, where 100% of our maple syrup comes from. Over 20% of the food served on campus is local. Another important sustainability initiative is our EcoAware program. To reduce waste on campus, we encourage students who are interested in taking food to go to use EcoAware, our reusable containers. Ecoare is the only way to do that from dining halls. For health and safety reasons, personal containers aren't allowed. When you like a meal to go, ask the cashier for an EcoAware container, scan your reuse pass, and fill it and enjoy your meal. It's important to return your containers, and there's a $5 charge for any unreturned containers at the end of the semester. We know waste sorting can be different depending on where you're from, so look for signs and waste sorting bubbles in dining areas for guidance. Here's a quick guide to help. Compost is for all of your food scraps and napkins. Recycling is for clean, empty items with a recycling symbol. And landfill landfill is for compostable packaging, black plastic, coffee cups, straws, utensils, and food wrappers. Let's check out all the ways to get connected with UVM dining. You can get involved with UVM dining through on-ampus jobs with our catering and concessions teams, internships, and marketing, or by becoming a dining ambassador. You can also attend one of our dining advisory groups, which is a great opportunity to speak with the team directly and tell us what you'd like to see on campus. Your feedback is important to us and we because it helps us grow and improve. If you need more information on dining, we encourage you to visit our website, check our events calendar, follow us on Instagram, subscribe to our newsletter, The Dish, and download Transact, our new mobile ordering app. Thank you so much for spending time with us this evening and learning about our dining program, and we can't wait to see you on campus. All right, thank you. Dining. So, we just going to go through a few more things before our Q&A. So, I just want to talk about some resources that we have for students really quick. So, the most important thing that we really want students to have set up before they come to move in is their CAT card. So, your CAT card, you know, helps you access your halls, your dining plan, everything like that. And it makes it a lot easier for us to give you your keys on movein day if you have your CAT card set up beforehand. So, if you haven't set that up yet, please scan the QR code there and set that up. It'd be super super helpful. Make your life so much easier on move in day. And then we have some QR codes here for um the new student insight sess sessions page on the on the website, our virtual tours, our movein guide, ZI families and supporters, and then also the dining services web page. So, we can linger here for a few more seconds just if anyone wants to scan some QR codes. I think we should be good to move to the next slide. All right. So, we would ask if you guys could please fill out this feedback form about how we did today and all the participants will be entered to win a UVM bookstore gift card who fill out the feedback form. So, we would love to hear from you guys before we do our Q&A session. So, I think we could just stay here maybe until 7:30, give people a couple minutes, and then we can move over to the Q&A session. And I think we were planning on using the Q&A function in Zoom. We've already had some great questions in there and we can answer some live. So yeah, and we also have the dining team here in person to answer your questions as well. Hi, I can answer the question. Um, what time do the dining halls open? And they vary. The earliest starts at opens at 7:30 in the morning and the latest is open until 9:30. All of our dining halls close for 1 hour in the middle of the day and there but there's always at least one dining hall open. Um we recommend that you check our website to see the hours. >> Um I just wanted to we got a question. Could we repost the cat card QR code? So if we could go back to that slide that would be great and we can leave that up if that is helpful. Sorry, you went too far back. >> Yep, that great. Thank you. Okay, another question about uh dining for retail points. They do roll over from fall to spring semester, but um they expire at the end of the year unless you add additional points onto your plan. Those don't expire as long as your uh student at UVM. >> Hi. Um, I wanted to answer the question about the exact move in day. You should have received your move in day and time slot already. It should be in the housing portal. So, if you need any help finding that, we can help you out. But should be there. for the Pinterest QR code. I can just send a link to the Pinterest board in the chat if that's easiest so you don't have to keep going back through slides. So do that right now. Uh, I wanted to answer the question about our desk hutches allowed. A majority of the rooms have desks that already have hutches on them. So, um, yes, but you most likely already have one. If you want to check out the virtual tour just to see if you have that kind of desk, you're totally welcome to. Some rooms have uh shelving above the desk instead. And then for the question, is the roommate agreement something that is done during orientation? Your roommate agreement you will most likely do after your initial floor meeting with your RA. So it's not done directly during orientation, but there is time during orientation for you to do it with your RA. I'm not sure where the question went, but there was a question about um meals on move in day. So, we have a welcome meal. Um it's breakfast or brunch for students and their families. Um and there'll be wristbands that we're we'll give out to everybody. for the question about will I be graded about this learning community summer book. You will not be graded during your faculty-led small group. If you have already filled out the form for lofting your bed and you already and you want to change it day of move in, we should have uh forms available around move in week for you to change your loft at bed. It might h not happen on move in day, but it will most likely happen within that week. Hi. Um, I just saw a question about different heights for lofting the bed. So, there's a whole bunch of different like rungs on the beds themselves, and you can do it for each level. Um, so there's like smaller ones, you can have it in the middle, you can have it high up. can really there's a good amount of um choice when doing that. >> Um for the question about the gym in CCR, um the main gym, if you're asking about that being the other gym, you do not have to purchase a membership for. So, the main Patrick gym is free for all students. >> For how much time does it typically take to unload and unpack? That'll depend on about how much you own. For example, when I moved in, it probably took me like an hour to unload and unpack together, but I know some people took a little bit longer, some people took a little less. And for learning the height of storage space above a closet, I'd recommend going to our virtual tour, finding either your room or a similar room setup, and measuring that space. That's something you're able to do with using our measuring tool. Um, for the question, what is timing in terms of residential hall rooms closing for breaks? So, if we're closing on 11:21, that just means you have to be out of the hall by noon. And if we're reopening on 11:29, you'd have to be you could come back to the hall at 8:00 a.m. that day. For the question, how many gyms are on campus and are they all are they all free for students? We have three gyms on campus. One is Patrick, which is our big gym that has all our student activities going on. And we have two gyms in different residential halls. Those do come with an added fee. But this year, if you are registered in Healthy Brains, Healthy Bodies, you're able to access the gym in Central Campus Residential Hall for free. Um, in terms of meal plan recommendations, I think it's really just up to you and and your individual dining needs. Um, and just to clarify, if you're on an all access plan, um, the points only roll over semester to semester, um, and they expire at the end of the academic year unless you add additional points to your plan. Um, and those will stay with you through your ac, you know, your time enrolled at UVM. Um, so I really think it just depends on what your specific needs are. Um, but the swipes if you're on an all access plan are unlimited. So, and if you were to purchase additional swipes, say if you were um just going to purchase the retail points plan and you wanted additional swipes, um you can use your um retail points at the door at our our uh resident dining locations. for the question of are there orientation events during our move in day or do they start after? So, when you're moving in from um I believe it's 7 to 2, there will be no orientation events, but around 3, you'll head over to Patrick gym, meet up with your group, and there will be some events. And if you're moving in on Thursday, uh your orientation will start on Thursday, and you're separated by groups based off of your move in date. So, you won't miss anything if you're there on Thursday. If you're there on Wednesday, you still get some stuff to do. >> For the question about carts being available on move move in day, there should be carts on every campus, every building. And there will be move in volunteers helping you with the carts who will bring a cart over to your car, help you load everything in and get it into your room. Orientation is if you're moving in Wednesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, a little bit into Sunday. moving in Thursday. It's Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So, it's the whole weekend and it's super fun. So, I definitely recommend checking it out and going. So, for the question about move in day, do you pull up in a defined location, get your car unloaded with volunteers, and then go park? Yes, that is generally what we do. Um, before move in day, there will be communications about where specifically to bring your car depending on each campus, where to drive up, who will drive up, the volunteers will be there to help you get everything, and then someone will stay with your car and then move it to where we will be sending long-term parking. and then you can come and help your student finish unpacking until you're ready to go. >> Um, for the question, are parents invited to all orientation? We do not invite parents to most of orientation as we students to get used to and exploring independently. Um, there is some parent sessions in the very first day, but beyond that, we ask the students go alone. And then for if a bed is not lofted, can the top session be removed from the room? Unfortunately, no. You do have to keep all furniture that comes with the room in the room. Um, for the question, will there be time in between orientation events to map out our classes to know where we have to go for Monday? I know when I did orientation, my orientation leader actually made time for us to go explore campus and find our classes. And a lot of them do tend to do that. And if you're feeling confused, you can always ask your orientation leader, can we make this time? And they're usually very willing to do that. Um, for the question about saying goodbye to the student before arriving for move in, that's totally up to you. There will be time for you to help your student move in, you know, all of that kind of stuff. Um, you guys are welcome to go get, you know, food together at the dining hall. If you need to go shopping to buy some more things, that's totally fine. As long as your student is ready for orientation when that starts. So, like don't feel pressure to like drop off and leave. Like that's totally not what you need to do. You're welcome to spend however much time that you're looking to spend time. And to answer the question about parking, I'm so sorry. Would you be able to ask that again? I couldn't find it. If it's about parking on move in, we do have parking spots available for families. We do try and ask that you stick to bringing just one vehicle in order to make it so everyone's able to utilize parking spots. Um, for your son's move in at 3:00 p.m. and orientation at 5:00, what we highly recommend is unpacking him, getting the basics set up, like his bed, and then he can spend the day, the night after orientation setting up. It's usually a great way to get to know your roommates and make friends in your hall. So, it still works out pretty well. Um, for the question, is it recommended to see the child the day after movein day before driving home? Um, that's up to each individual person, but I will say your child's most likely going to be very busy uh at orientation, at breakfast, with their friends, meeting their roommates. It's going to be a really busy weekend. So, we do recommend saying goodbye before they head to orientation so they can have that weekend to explore themselves independently with some new Honestly, the best place for some tips to make on packing a wide space usage from UVM side. Um, we are working on some Instagram content about that. So, you should definitely check out our Instagram, but also um following up on our moving guide website. I can um send the link for the virtual tour to the chat right now. Um, for the question, what's the one thing that everyone brings and doesn't use and the one thing that they should have brought? I do think the one thing I definitely should have brought my freshman my first year was a first aid kit because I fell and I was bleeding a lot and I was like, "Wow, you really appreciate band-aids when you don't have them." And I think something that I everyone tends to bring, but I didn't find very useful was owning like plastic plates and forks and knives. Like I just didn't want to do dishes. I wasn't cooking enough to justify it. Just buying a few disposables was kind of easier and took up less space and involved a little less work. I don't know, Emily. What do you think? H I think honestly something that I brought that I never used which could totally be just me was like um like a little like curig. I feel like I just ended up using my retail points to get a coffee on campus cuz I was feeling a little lazy or something and if I wanted hot chocolate I could just microwave it in the microwave. So I feel like that's something that could take up space that you might not need unless you're like super super big into coffee and like really really love it every morning. Um, something that I wish id brought my first year, honestly, I'd say would be like a bathrobe. I found that it was much easier to go to and from the bathroom in that instead of having to get my clothes on and off in the bathroom when maybe the floor was a little wet or something like that. So, I would say I I got that my second year and I feel like it really made a difference. So, I would definitely suggest getting one of those. for the question about advice on how to meet people in your building. For me, going to orientation, orientation is usually grouped around people who live nearby to you. So, most of the friends that I made that lived in my building or the building next to me were from orientation. I also recommend going to like your learning community events, you know, seeing what's going on there, hanging out in the common spaces, the kitchens. I think it's just a great way to just meet people, especially that first semester. Everyone is looking to make friends, so don't be shy, you know, talk to people. Everyone's looking for the same thing. Um, for the question, do you recommend renting or purchasing a fridge and microwave? It definitely comes down to your personal preference. Like if you do purchase, you do have to store it in the summer. You have to travel with it. That can be a little bit difficult. So, it kind of comes down to personal preference. Uh, and then for the question, can we loft the bed ourselves when we get to the residential hall room or change the height? It is already set to if we ask loft. You are not able to change the bed yourself. We do not want that. And you can request that it gets changed if you do dislike the height. And then John, as sad as we are to hear that you're going to be a little teareyed, you can stick around if you want to set up and build things, but uh there's a chance that when your daughter's at orientation, she's not going to want to come back cuz I'm crying. So, the question about bike storage, um, I believe there is bike storage at most residence halls. I can't say all for a fact at the moment, but, um, that information should be available online. But yeah, we do have bike rooms inside the holes and then we also have bike locks and places to put them outside as well. Um, so there should be a way to keep your bike safe during the school year. Um, for the in the four bedroom suite, do the bedroom doors automatically lock? Is there a lock from inside with a common room between all four bedrooms? Doors typically do not automatically lock. You just have to go like that to the lock thing and it will lock. And for bedrooms, you are able to lock them individually, not just a sweet one. And then for I know candles aren't allowed, but are candle warmers not allow are allowed. They are not allowed. We do recommend checking out the hallway handbook. And if you're like, I'm not sure about this one item, please give us an email. We'd rather get to tell you than have you get in trouble during some health and safety inspection. >> So for the question about where do most students store personal skis and equipment, most students store those in their rooms. We don't have designated space for that like we do bikes. So that's something that you're going to need to more likely than not find space within um the room for that. Um, I think when it comes to renting the micro fridge, freezer, microwave, the one that we advertise is patent pending for its amazing technology with a built-in smoke alarm. So, if you're looking at renting, I do think it is the top choice in the market. >> I can share the link for the hallways handbook in the chat right now. Um, for a little bit more information of the bike co-op and renting a bike, I would recommend going to Instagram and looking at UVM bikes page. They're going to have a little bit more information with exact timing and prices. Um, I'm not a part of the bike co-op, so I would definitely recommend checking out that page. Hi. Um, we could definitely show the slide with the learning communities. If you could go back to slide 11, that would be amazing. Just to put out there, we do are in our last five minutes. If you have any questions, you can make sure to drop them in the chat now so we can respond to them. Last year, our creativity did have amps for use in the practice room. Uh, my most efficient tip for moving day would be pack everything like in the way you want to unpack it. Like I packed my the things I needed for that night. My bedding, things for showering al together because I knew that's what I would get to that day. And I packed the things that could wait until after orientation in a separate box and I just did it as I had time. How about you Emily? What do you think's most efficient? I think for me, I did the same thing. I went and I made up my bed first because I was like, if I don't have time for anything else, I want to make sure that I can just go to sleep tonight and not have to worry about it. And I ended up having some more time after orientation to unpack some things. It didn't take as long as I was expecting it to. So, yeah. I also wanted to answer about advice for travelers by plane for Thanksgiving week. I'm from North Carolina, so I frequently flew back and forth. Um, it's nothing that's ever like a super big deal. I would just say try to, you know, get your flights to be before the halls close. Just makes it a little easier. If it's early in the morning, which most of the flights out of Burlington are, I would suggest getting the airport a little earlier than usual. And maybe try if you're going to Uber to like book an Uber in advance to make sure that there's some available for you. Or even try to carpool with other students going to the airport. I know that's something helpful as well, but it's not usually super crazy stressful. It should be not too bad. >> Um, for the question, is it true that campus, including residential hall rooms, allow smoking? We do not allow smoking. Smoking is not allowed on campus. It is prohibited in our hallway handbook, and we do prohibit smoking on all campuses. It is federal. for the question about how late does the CAT bus run. Um, the CAT bus runs usually until 10 p.m. on the weekdays. The last loop starts at about 9:30. So, for a class that goes until 9:00 p.m., you you should be all right to be able to take the bus after your class. Yes, you are allowed to rearrange the furniture in your residential hall room. Um, I recommend doing during the day. If you are a downstairs neighbor, you will not like when people do it at night. So, please do it during the day. For the question about skis, um, absolutely I would say put them under your bed if they fit. I think that's the best place to put them. Um, I know my roommate one year just sort of like stood them up against the wall or against her closet. um just made things a little bit easier. But yeah, definitely finding a place in your room to store them is the easiest way to have them with you. >> Um for the question, how do you suggest we handle if roommate is a smoker on their profile? Um I would have a discussion with them when you're setting up that roommate agreement. Make it a point to be like, I'm not comfortable with this. This isn't allowed. And then if it is a reoccurring problem, bring in your RA and say, this is making me uncomfortable. And from there, your RA will help you with the navigate specific situation. And for are the dorms warm enough in the winter time? Yes, they are very toasty. Nice and toasty after a nice ski day. The residential hall rooms in the summer are pretty good as long as you have a fan. We highly recommend a fan. Um, it depends on where your room is. If you have the sun coming in, then it can be get a little hot. But as a fan, it's really doable. Um, wanted to answer where can we find the bus route info. So, there is a page on the website for all about the bus. I can link that in the chat for you if that's helpful. There is also a UVM cats bus app which I highly suggest downloading. It'll show you live feed of like where the buses are, how close they are to getting to you, and it'll show you all the different routes and all their information. So, I will link the website for you. It talks about the app on the website so you can figure that all out. Uh for the question for all the things we forget, what the Amazon delivery process different from usual mailing address? It's not any different. So you're based like um if I live in University Heights South, I'm going to put Max Balasco, University of Heights South 90, University Heights Street, University Burlington, Vermont 05405. It arrives to our warehouse first. So once you get that email that it's delivered, it really means it's at our warehouse. Your student will receive an email once we've logged it on our part. That can add an extra day into the process. So just keep that in mind. And for mailing things right around move in, it might take a little bit longer because we're going to have a lot of packages to go through. And for the question, does every residential hall room have a window? Yes, all residential hall rooms have a window and you can bring a window fan. So, I believe that is all the time we have tonight. Uh, we really appreciate all of your questions and all of you joining us and listening to what we have to say. Um, there are two more sessions, like I said, coming up throughout the summer. So, there will be opportunities for more questions there. And of course, you're always welcome to send us questions on the Instagram account. We will look through there and we can answer any questions you have. Call the housing department, send them an email. All that information can be found on our website. So, if you have any questions, we can definitely answer them at another time. So, thank you so much again everyone for joining