Move-In

A message from The Office Residence Life,

"Where Hawks Come to Nest"

This is a phrase that you will hear and see often at Saint Joseph's University. It is a motto that the Residence Life Staff has taken on to represent it's role in the lives of the students who come into our residences. The campus living experience is more than a place to sleep, study and watch TV. It is a place where students come and are challenged and changed. It is a community where college memories begin and where the relationships developed form friendships that last a lifetime. It is a place that becomes a "home away from home" to the students who choose to live in residence and experience the autonomy of community living.

As a student at Saint Joseph's University, you will be exposed to new ideas and issues that will challenge you to question and explore their value. Residence living provides the opportunity for this exploration through informal late night discussions with a roommate or a group of friends, or formally through organized hall programs.

In each building and on each hall, Resident Assistants (RAs) are available to answer questions about the University and it's resources, to serve as peer counselors, to help organize hall programs and to enforce University policy. RAs seek to develop a positive community on the floor by assisting students with the "get-to-know-you" process and transition to college living. By taking advantage of hall activities such as floor socials, intramural teams, community service projects, and trips into Philadelphia, you will experience a great deal of interaction with hallmates and other resident students throughout campus. It is through such experiences that you will learn more about yourself and be enriched as you share thoughts, experiences and individual cultures with one another.

Supervising the RAs are the Area Coordinators, these are full time professional staff members who live and work in the Residence Halls. These professionals assist with hall programming, discipline follow-up, emergencies/crisis management and the overall operations of the building. We hope that you will come to respect and utilize this valuable resource person.

In addition to the Area Coordinator and Resident Assistant staff, another important member of the Residence Life Staff are our Resident Ministers. The Resident Ministers are Jesuit priests and other Christian adults who live in the residence halls and serve as counselors and religious guides. Resident Ministers are available to provide spiritual programming based on individual and/or hall needs, and to help organize community service projects, retreats and hall liturgies.

Bringing the academic mission of Residence Life into focus is our Academic Housing Options which includes a Faculty in Residence. Housed in LaFarge Residence Center, interested students may choose to live in one of many Academic Housing Options. Currently a Biology faculty member lives in LaFarge and spends many a late night helping students with homework, labs, and test preparation.

Residence Living offers a variety of housing options and services designed to meet diverse needs. From co-ed Residence Halls to single sex campus houses, to university apartments that offer single efficiencies, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. All buildings are wired for telephone and cable TV services, and computer network access. Satellite Residential Fitness Centers, to compliment the University Fieldhouse, are located in Sourin, LaFarge and Overbrook.

Whether you are arriving on campus as a resident student or commuter, we believe that you will have a positive experience in the residence halls. As a visitor, or a vital community member, expect to contribute to an environment that emphasizes academic achievement, self-discipline, and mutual respect. It is in such an environment, you will enjoy a great deal of freedom to make your own decisions and explore your interests.