Making Friends in your Residence Hall
Leave your door open when you’re in the room (always remember to close and lock the door when you leave!) so that people walking by will stop in! Make a point of being friendly and outgoing, be talkative with your new roommates.
Join Hall Council (a group that organizes events for members of your hall, talk to your R.A. or R.D. about joining)
Introduce yourself to your R.A., this is the first person you should go to when you have a problem, so you will want to feel comfortable talking to this person. Plus, your R.A. is an upperclassman who knows a lot about clubs and activities on campus, ask your R.A. questions about things you are interested in!
Spend time uniquely decorating your room (have an unusual tapestry, pet goldfish, flag from your home country, or poster of your favorite band); this is a good way to invite people you meet on your floor to come see your one-of-a-kind room.
Don’t be afraid to meet upperclassmen living in your hall, they’re a good resource for class/professor recommendations and they know the campus well.
Find people who share your interests. Check out the College Union’s webpage at: view a list of Geneseo clubs. Take the initiative and email the organization to find out when and where meetings take place.
Ask around your hall to find people who are interested in playing a game of basketball, soccer, tennis, or racquetball. You can borrow sports equipment for free from the equipment room located in Kuhl Gym (next to the entrance of the Work Out Center) by using your student ID card.
Use your Livingston Area Transport Shuttle (LATS) Schedule! Suggest going to the mall, movies, or a sporting event in Rochester; or go to the Geneseo Cinema and present your student ID card for a discount ticket price.
Make a point of attending hall socials/trips (however, if the trip goes to Canada, make sure to visit the ISS Office first!)
Have a movie night and invite everyone on your floor to come watch in your room. You can borrow a DVD or VCR player and movies for free from your hall’s service desk if you don’t have one.
Once you meet people in your hall, be sure to take the initiative and ask them to do something. People will be more excited to get together if you have an event to suggest. Visit the event calendar on the Geneseo webpage to find out about Limelight (Professional performing art shows – ballet, symphony, ect.) Kino (movies shown on campus), Knight Sports (Geneseo’s athletic team games – lacrosse, softball, hockey, soccer, ect.), and other special events.
Have a game night. You can borrow board games for free from your hall’s service desk using your ID card.
Talk in the bathroom! It may seem like an awkward place, but you’re likely to see everyone from your section of the hall there. Suggest personalizing your bathroom with decorations (usually only female bathrooms).
Find out if anyone in your hall wants to play pool, on certain nights you can play for free at the Corner Pocket in the Union. If you can’t find anyone, enter a tournament and meet new people there. Check out their website for times they are open:
Get some people together and head over to the Union for Geneseo Late Knight events (Friday and Saturday nights only). This is a group that organizes alcohol free events for students. Visit this webpage for event descriptions:
If you know how to play the piano head down to the main lounge of your residence hall and play some music. People walking by are likely to stop and listen to you play, take this opportunity to make conversation.
If you see someone in one of your classes who also lives in your residence hall, ask them to walk to class together.
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