As yet another school year is upon us, students are quickly settling into both their academic lives and their personal lives.
Like the age-old adage says, home is where the heart is, and for a portion of Fresno State students, that home is University Courtyard.
Among the many housing options surrounding campus, including Campus Edge, Palazzo, and both Bulldog and University Villages, students find a sense of solace and familiarity in living on campus.
However, the process is not without its kinks. Due to a lack of available rooms and the high volume of returning residents, 30 students were temporarily relocated to the University Square Hotel located on Cedar Avenue, according to University Courtyard’s summer conference and marketing coordinator Matthew Gorella.
This practice is a stopgap measure taken while availability for on-campus living is being reviewed for future openings.
“As of recently, all 30 have been safely moved into the residence halls,” Gorella said. “This practice has been used in past years in order to ensure students are able to have stable and proper housing near campus while continuing to attend school.”
This year, one of the new developments at University Courtyard is an international wing located on the third floor of the Graves residence hall. On the floor, there are approximately 80 students, the majority of whom are partnered together with a fellow pupil of a different background or culture.
University Courtyard’s student living currently consists of nine residence halls: three community style and six suite buildings, which are occupied by students. Both suite and community style dwellings are equipped with showers, microwaves, beds, and wireless Internet.
Javier Garcia, a junior majoring in Enology from Live Oak, Calif., spoke warmly about campus living.
“I like the dorms because everything I need is accessible,” Garcia said. “I can walk to class, the library, the bookstore and my department all within five minutes, and better yet I can disregard the horrible traffic commute many of my friends face every morning while arriving to school.”
As a condition of their housing, all students are also required to choose a meal plan for the academic year.
Nate Roberts, a freshman living in the dorms from the nearby town of Kerman and studying Plant Science, has found the Residence Dining Hall to be key.
“The Dining Hall has proved to be crucial, so far, especially considering I hate washing dishes,” Roberts said.
With the upcoming Sept. 18 fee payment deadline mandated by the university looming, a number of students are still making financial arrangements. In terms of housing payments, there are a variety of ways in which payments can be made.
Students can pay in two installments or on a monthly basis, with balances typically due on the fifth of each month.
However, the most common payment method is through Financial Aid deduction. After tuition fees are paid, University Courtyard gives students the option of having their housing bill deducted from the remaining amount of the Financial Aid.