Amenities

Residence Hall Amenities

On this page:

• Standard amenities
• What to bring
• Optional items to bring
• What NOT to bring
• Telephone
• Campus cable system
• Calvin's network
• Floor lounges/kitchen
• Reception desk & mail boxes
• Meditation chapel/prayer rooms
• Computer labs
• Study & programming basement
• Recreation room
• Study areas
• Trunk room
• Bike storage
• Copy machines
• ATM
• Overnight guests
• Car and bike washing
• Waste and recycling
• Residence hall parking

All Residence Halls Include:

• Beds, mattresses, mattress pads, dressers, desks, desk lamps, and chairs are all provided
• All furniture is stackable - no homemade lofts allowed
• RoomBathrooms contain the basics: a shower, toilet, sink, counter space, and storage for your personal supplies.
• Closets contain shelves for storage above
• Built in book shelves with small lockable compartments
• The floors also have an extra community bathroom known as the "C.J." with a tub, toilet, and large sink.
• A telephone in each room
• Campus cable televistion port
• Computer access (ethernet ports and wireless access)
• Toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies are available free of charge in each floor’s service closet and at the front reception desk, where bottled cleansers are refilled (rather than discarded).

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What to Bring

• Sheets
  (Our mattresses are 80" long so you will need extra long twin sheets. The college provides mattress pads.)
• Blankets
• Pillows
• Bedspreads
• Towels
• Washclothes
• Automatic washers and dryers located on the lower level of each residence hall are provided free to residents. Students must provide their own detergents, etc. Ironing boards and Irons are available at the reception desk.

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Optional Items to Bring

• Alarm clock
• comforter
• desk supplies
• hangers
• laundry basket
• dishes
• boots
• umbrella
• bicycle and bike lock
• CDs
• computer
• DVD player
• electronic hotpot
• outdoor sports equipment
• plants
• posters
• small refrigerator (four feet tall or smaller (one allowed per room)
• stereo
• surge protectors
• extension cords
• television

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What NOT to Bring

• Air conditioners
• alcohol/drug paraphernalia (including empty alcohol containers thought to be decorative)
• candles
• firearms of any kind (including paintball or air-soft guns)
• fireworks
• space heaters
• incense
• loft or other structure altering items
• microwaves
• pets (except fish)
• toasters
• waterbeds
• weight lifting equipment
• 5 light floor lamps with plastic lamp shades

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Telephone

There is a telephone and a phone jack in each room of the residence halls. All equipment must remain in the room. Charges will be incurred for broken or missing equipment. Direct-dial long distance calling is not available, but pre-paid calling cards are available at the Campus Store.

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Campus Cable System

Each room is equipped with a cable jack for access to the campus cable system. Commercial cable systems are not available in the residence halls, but a number of cable networks are provided (e.g. CNN, Fox News, ESPN, Fox Sports Detroit, Discovery, The History Channel, CBC-Canada, etc.) as well as local networks.

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Connecting your Student Computer to Calvin's Network

There are 2 ways for students to connect their personal computer to Calvin's Network. Both require you to go through a sign-up process before connecting and both connections go through the BESS filter.

CalvinStudents: Calvin's wireless network for students.

• Connecting to CalvinStudents

ResNet (Residential Network) is Calvin's wired network offering high-speed* ethernet connections to the Internet from on-campus dorms and apartments.

• Connecting to ResNet

Floor Lounges/Kitchens

Floor lounges are located on each floor. Each lounge contains a large refrigerator for food storage, a sink, a stove and/or microwave, and tables for group studing and social activities on the floor. Recycling containers are stationed in lounges for recycling of paper, plastics, and metals.

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Reception Desk and Mail Boxes

The reception desk of each residence hall complex is open from 2:00 pm to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and until 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday.
Services include:

• Distribution of mail and messages
  (Each room is assigned one mailbox and students use a combination or key to gain access.)
• Checkout of sports equipment
• Irons and ironing boards
• Cleaning supplies, and other tools and utensils
• Campus telephone directory service
• Stamps
• Change of money.

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Meditation Chapel/Prayer Rooms

Located on the lower level of the residence halls are small meditation rooms which provide quiet places for private devotions and praying. No studying is allowed in these rooms.

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Computer Labs

Computer labs are located on the lower levels of the men’s hall for the use of all residence hall students 24 hours a day. Various academic software, internet access, and laser printing are available. Academic work takes priority over all personal use, such as email, and no food or beverages may be taken into computer labs.

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Study and Programming Basement

On the lower level of each women’s residence hall is a lounge/study area. This area provides both male and female students with a place for conversation, group studying, and programs planned by various student organizations.

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Recreation Room

On the lower level of each men’s residence hall is a recreation area for both male and female students, containing a television area, ping-pong, pool, and foosball tables, and an area of booths and tables for socializing or group-studying. Vending machines are also available for snacks, soda, and juices.

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Study Areas

Located on the lower level of each hall are study areas with study carrels and tables. These are single gender, 24 hour quiet areas.

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Trunk Room

There is a room on the lower level of each hall for storage of off-season clothing, trunks and suitcases, and for summer storage of clothing. All items stored in the trunk rooms are stored at the student’s risk and must be clearly labeled and logged. A staff member must accompany residents who add items to or remove items from the trunk room. Furniture may not be stored in the trunk room.

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Bike Storage

Each residence hall has bicycle racks outside and a bicycle storage room on the lower level of the women’s hall. Bicycles may not be left in the hallways, stairwells, lobbies, or floor lounges. Bikes should be locked at all times. All bicycles must be registered at the residence hall desk. The desk will issue a numbered tag which should remain on your bicycle at all times. Bikes left untagged and untouched for more than a year will be removed.

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Copy Machines

Coin-operated copy machines are available for all residence students in the inner lobbies of the Bolt-Heyns-Timmer and Noordewier-VanderWerp complexes.

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ATM

An Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is located in the lobby of the Noordewier-VanderWerp complex, as well as in the Commons Annex.

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Overnight Guests

Students are permitted to have overnight guests of the same gender stay in their rooms after completing an Overnight Guest Registration Form, available at the front reception desk. If a guest becomes a regular visitor or if a roommate or suitemates are inconvenienced, the college reserves the right to limit visiting. Each resident is fully responsible for his/her guests’ compliance with residence hall regulations.

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Car and Bike Washing

A pail and a key to the water faucet of Beets-Veenstra Hall may be checked out with a college ID at the Beets-Veenstra reception desk.

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Waste and Recycling

Calvin College is committed to environmental stewardship and expects all residents to cooperate with the recycling program. Specific details of this program will be provided in the residence halls and will be reviewed periodically with students.

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Residence Hall Parking

All resident students’ cars must display a valid Calvin College parking permit. Residents will be issued the appropriate parking permit based on where they are residing and will only be allowed to park in lots corresponding to that permit. The parking and driving regulations will provide detailed information on the appropriate permit and corresponding lots.

The parking areas adjacent to each residence hall are intended for short-term parking for the convenience of the residents and their guests. Accordingly they are posted: “Lights On / 30 Minute Limit.”

The lot North of Kalsbeek-Huizenga and designated lots east of the East Beltline are allocated for resident students’ cars. Parking is not allowed on the main campus or the short-term lots between 2:00 am and 6:00 am. Residence hall students are not permitted to park their vehicles in the Fine Arts Center lot.

Motorcycles and all other vehicles with gasoline motors must conform to all college parking and driving regulations. These vehicles must display a valid Calvin College parking permit. Under no circumstance may they be brought into residence halls.

Driving on sidewalks is prohibited, unless permission has been requested from Campus Safety or a Residence Life staff member.

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