Important Semester Break Information

Vacating Instructions
As Stated in the Student Housing License Agreement, the residence halls will be closed during the semester break period. Rooms must be vacated by 7pm Friday, December 18, 2009. The last meal will be lunch on Friday, December 18. The halls will reopen at 12 noon on Sunday, January 24, 2010. Please note that the first meal served is breakfast on Monday, January 25, 2010.

Guests are Prohibited
Guests are not permitted during the break period. The University Police Department will be provided with a list of students authorized to remain in the halls. Unauthorized persons in or around the halls will be subject to arrest and/or university disciplinary action.

Tranfer, Vacates & Room Changes
Residents who requested a hall transfer or a cancellation of their License Agreement by November 20, 2009 deadline will be notified in writing by December 4, 2009. Please note that it is extremely doubtful roommates changing halls can be assigned together. Requests to change rooms within your current hall should be made to your R.A. by December 9.

Office Phone Service
During the break period, the Residence Coordinators will be on duty for emergency calls only.

Quiet Hours
Beginning Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 7pm, 24-hour quiet hour policy will be in effect for the benefit of students studying for final exams. Your coorperation is appreciated.


For more imformation, please contact:
Housing & Residential Life @ (562) 985-4187

Fall 2010 Freshmen Required to Live at the CSULB Dorms

Beginning Fall 2010, new incoming Freshmen are required to live at the CSULB dorms for an entire school year.

The requirement, developed by the Division of Student Services, was signed by President F. King Alexander. The Associated Students Inc. (ASI) held a meeting Wednesday in regards to the requirement. They proposed the change is to encourage a more residential campus as opposed to a commuter one.

The petition will be exempted for those 21 and older and students living at home with their parents or guardians. This exemption will also be made for students who are married, domestically partnered or legally dependent and students enrolled in less than five credit hours for the entire year.

"The biggest impact on the residential halls is students not being able to add classes. With less students in school, the less there are living at the dorms," said Jeane Caveness, Assistant Dean of students.

For more information, please contact ASI at (562) 985-4834.

Exciting Events for December :D

AMC Movie Night Out- 11/30 - 12/2

Enjoy a night out at the movies at the local AMC theatres. For only $7 you will get a ticket to a movie of your choice, a box of popcorn and a drink. Tickets sign-ups at dinner from 5 pm to 7 pm:

11/30 Monday RLC Dining Hall

12/1 Tuesday Residence Dining Hall

12/2 Wednesday Parkside Dining Hall

Stocking Stuffing for Seniors - 12/3

Join us from 9PM to midnight on December 3rd in the Parkside Dining Hall as we get together to decorate ornaments and stuff stockings for residents of Magnolia Royale Retirement Center. Even if you didn't sign-up you can show up to help and have a festive time.

K1 Speed (Go Karts) - 12/3

Join us for a night of speed! On December 3rd we will be heading out to K1 Speed in Torrance for a night of go karting. Cost is only $20.00. Sign up at dinner:

11/9 RLC Dining Hall

11/10 Residence Dining Hall

11/11 Parkside Dining Hall

Skiing and Snow Boarding - 12/4

Join us on Friday, December 4th as we will be heading to the mountains for a day of skiing and snowboarding. Cost is only $34 and $39 for trip and rentals. Transportation provided.

Sign-ups at dinner from 5 pm to 7 pm:

10/19 Monday at RLC Dining Hall

10/20 Tuesday at Residence Commons Dining Hall

10/21 Wednesday at Parkside Commons Dining Hall

MultiCultural Night - 12/7

Join us the night of Monday, December 7th, 9PM- 11PM over at the Pointe for Multicultural Night. Food, crafts, prizes, and entertainment will be provided. It's free and all residents are invited.

Spark of Love Charity Party - 12/9

Bring a new, unwrapped toy or monetary donation to brighten a child's holiday. We will be showing the movie Elf, decorating cookies and be entered into a raffle. All residents are welcome to attend.

Whale Watching - 12/11

Join us the afternoon of December 11th as we head out in a boat to go whale watching for the day. Cost is only @20.00. Sign up at Dinner from 5-7 PM:

11/16 RLC Dining Hall
11/17 Residence Dining Hall
11/18 Parkside Dining Hall

Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve Party - 12/12

Join us as we go to Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve taping of Happy New Year!. Cost is only $2.00. The event will be held on Saturday, December 12th. Sign-ups at dinner 5PM to 7 PM

11/30 Monday, at RLC Dining Hall

12/1 Tuesday at Residence Commons Dining Hall

12/2 Wednesday at Parkside Dining Hall

Karaoke Night

On Wednesday, December 9, 2009, the RLC will be hosting their first Karaoke Night of the semester!

Karaoke night will be held from 8:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. in the main room of the Pacific Hall, otherwise known as "The Island" to residents. This is a new event created by RLC resident Maria Herane.

Maria Herane is an international student from Chile, South America living at Residential Learning College. She loves to sing for fun and thought it would be a great idea for the RLC to hold a karaoke night.

All it takes is a few borrowed equipments such as a karaoke machine, microphones and speakers. Also a few residents are bringing record discs for the songs.

This is an opportunity for residents to sing their heart out! COME JOIN!

More Empty Stomaches Coming to the Dining Hall

More on-campus residents are finding out about the RLC's famous dining hall.

Residents from Parkside Commons and Residence Commons are migrating to the Residential Learning College cafeteria to have lunch and dinner. One of the main reasons why the RLC dining hall is becoming popular is because the food is made right when you order. As opposed to the on-campus dining halls where food is pre-made, the RLC dining hall is freshly cooked right in front of you. Although the selections from all dining halls are the same but run on different cycles, the RLC dining hall has a more appealing quality. It is newly remodeled, much cleaner, has a more comfortable style of dining, and cable television.

The busiest time at the RLC dining hall is dinnertime on Thursday nights for its Mexican food: tacos, burritos, chips, and salsa. On-campus residents are discovering when the best food is being served on what day. However, this could be a problem at the grill section of the cafeteria. There are usually one or two chefs serving about 150 kids a day. Having more residents at the dining hall will result in a longer wait at the grill selection.

"We are aware that Thursday nights are our busiest," said Jenny Lew, associate director of the Residential Dining Service. "But sometimes we don't know when the dining hall will be busy. That's our biggest concern. We're looking into what we can do about this potential problem."

For now, the dining hall staff will try their best to accomodate however many residents eat at their cafeteria. They will continue their original ways of running the cafeteria until it becomes a bigger issue to resolve.

Flu Update

Free H1N1 flu vaccinations were given for all CSULB Residents & RLC Residents in early November.

At Los Cerritos Lobby between November 4th through the 6th, residents living in the residence halls were vaccinated with no cost.

"We are seeing an increasing number of ill students, but we've had no major breakouts with any of our athletic teams, in student housing or in campus fraternity or sorority houses," Dr. Michael Carbuto, CSULB's director of student health services, said. "But I believe we're ready if anything major happens. We have our plans in place and are ready to go with them if need be."

H1N1 Vaccine is still available in Student Health Services Room 118 on:

Mondays & Tuesdays 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Patients must bring a Government Issued Photo ID or College Photo ID to ALL appointments at the Student Health Services and Health Resource Center.

H1N1 Vaccine will be available until the current supply is exhausted.

For more information, please call 562-985-2727 or visit the Student Health Services Web site.

Thanksgiving Break Information

Register to Stay
The residence halls will remain open for residents during the Thanksgiving break. Those who wish to stay in the halls, must register at their hall office by 12:00 noon on Tueseday, November 24, 2009 at no extra charge.

Important
The university does not recommend or encourage residents to stay over the break. Security is a concern and each resident who chooses to stay assumes full responsibility for his or her personal safety and agrees to abide by all regulations. Guests are not permitted in the halls during the break period. The Parkside laundry room will be closed until 12:00 noon on Sunday, November 29th. If you have any questions, your Residence Coordinator will be in his/her apartment.

Mail Service
During the Thanksgiving break, the hall offices will not be holding regular office hours. Residence Commons, Parkside Commons, and RLC offices will only be open from 10:00am to 12:00 noon on Friday and Saturday for residents to pick up their mail. The Residence Coordinators are available for emergency calls only.

Meal Schedule
This is a reminder that the last meal served before Thanksgiving break is lunch on Wednesday, November 25 and the first meal served after the break is breakfast on Monday, November 30, 2009.

Personal Property
For your protection it is very important that all exterior doors remain locked at all times. If you have any particular possessions of concern, it is suggested that you take them with you.

For questions or concerns, please call 562-985-4187 or email here.

Haunted Hallway Hit!

A successful Halloween event of the Haunted Hallway that took place last Thursday left many CSULB students and residents shaking in their boots!

Main director and residential advisor Andrew Hakim set up the haunted maze the night before with the assistance of 10 people, including other RAs, close friends, and RLC residents. Setting up for three hours, they did all they could with the fair amount of props they had.

The middle bridge between the east and west Pacific Hall was the only section being used in the event. Instead of the maze being one long hallway, it was a walk through the individual dorm rooms connected between shared bathrooms.

Gory set ups of simple items such as plastic bags (for condensed space), red lipstick (for blood), and cotton balls (for spiderwebs) put residents and nonresidents in a vulnerable position. Also dark lighting, loud screams, and disturbing skulls aided to the feel of a real haunted maze.

"It was a great event!" said Maria Herane, participant and RLC resident. "I heard residents say they wouldn't be scared but when I jumped out, they would fall to the floor and scream!"

Haunted Hallway Gallery

Dance Marathon for Charity

On Friday, November 6, 2009, a dance marathon will take place at the RLC to raise money for the nonprofit organization Project Kindle.

Project Kindle's main goal is to improve the quality of life for children, young adults and families who are infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The organization provides recreational experiences, educational programs, and support services primarily through camps. These camps provide opportunities and enhance the overall well-being of children and youth.

It will cost residents $8 and nonresidents $10 to attend the event. The donation will go towards Project Kindle. It will be held for four hours from 8 p.m. to midnight. The first two hours will be an 80's theme and the second two hours will be a pajama (PJ) theme.

"I am really excited for this event because I am hosting it," said Kim Cao, residential advisor on the first floor. "Fun and exciting things are happening right here at the RLC."

The best time to sign up for this event is between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays at the RLC, Tuesdays at Residence Commons and Wednesdays at Parkside Commons.

Camp Kindle Featured on Direct TV from Project Kindle on Vimeo.

"Haunted Hallway"

The RLC will be hosting their very first "Haunted Hallway" on Thursday, October 29, 2009.

The third floor of the Residential Learning College will be filled with deathly mazes, horrific zombies, and ultimate fun. This semester the RLC decided to host their own activity in the spirit of Halloween.

The directors of RLC are slowing making the off-campus housing more involved and more exciting for CSULB residents on and off campus. The best way is to create more events that are entertaining and enjoyable.

"This is something the RAs [Residential Advisors] came up with in our weekly meetings," said Andrew Hakim, residential advisor on the third floor. "We never thought we'd be given the actual opportunity to host a new way to celebrate Halloween. It's perfect timing too because the third floor is currently vacant."

This free event is between 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m where free food and prizes will be given away.

RLC Shuttle Buses

Lately the RLC shuttle buses have been arriving late and causing student residents to be frustrated and ultimately annoyed.

The main purpose of the RLC shuttle bus is to provide free "morning to late night service from RLC to campus in a matter of minutes." Fifteen minutes is the time between each shuttle bus that provides service to and from school at three locations: Brottman Hall, the library and Lot 14. Student residents usually leave half an hour prior to class where they want to feel relaxed, not rushed.

Due to the delay in the arrival of shuttle buses, residents have either been either extremely early or just in time for class. The arrival time of the shuttle buses varies, but it is never consistent of every 15 minutes.

So what is the cause of the delay? Traffic.

"Depending on the time of day, traffic seems to be the main issue. Residents who have 8 a.m. or 5 p.m. classes are more likely to be too early or too late to class," Elissa Thomas, CSULB’s rideshare coordinator, said. "We are trying to do our best to provide the quickest and most reliable source of transportation for students at the off-campus housing."

"I drive to school," said Joey Navarrete, resident at RLC. "This way I don't have to deal with bus transportation or worry about whether or not I'll make it to class on time."


For more information, contact:
Rideshare Coordinator Elissa Thomas: (562) 985-4091

BBQ Dinner at RLC's Pool

The dining hall staff of the Residential Learning College held a BBQ dinner for its residents last Thursday.

With the dining hall being purposely closed, the BBQ was located at the swimming pool between the east and west wings of the Pacific Hall. The idea consisted of two purposes: to gather the RLC community to be better acquainted with one another and to save money by not serving the usual dining hall meals.

The BBQ dinner was not an event set up with the on-campus residence of Parkside Commons or Residence Commons. This was specially done for the RLC residents to enjoy a new fun style of dining.

"It's a great way to gather the RLC community and have a nice dinner outdoors with some good BBQ food!" said Jenny Lew, associate director of the Residential Dining Services.

Because of the success of the BBQ, the dining hall team may continue to have BBQ dinner nights once in a while when the weather is nice and warm.

"Meet and Greet" Between the Dorms

Last night the Residential Learning College, as well as the Residence Commons and Parkside Commons, had a "Meet and Greet" between every participating dorm room.

RLC students left their dorm room doors open at 9:00p.m. for fellow suitemates to walk by, peak in, and say hello. The goal of the "Meet and Greet" is for residents to be acquainted with one another. This way they are not forced to befriend one another by events set up with their Residence Hall or the encouragement of their Residential Advisors (RA). They are able to familiarize themselves with each other by taking their own initiative to do so, and that is a more comfortable feeling for students.

Kimberly Holden, an 18-year-old Freshman at the RLC, said, "I left my door open for the first time, and there were a lot of different people I've never seen before popping in to say hi. It felt like a warm welcome."