Monash Residential Services
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Monash Residential Services, a division of Monash University, and alternatively known as MRS, are responsible for providing student housing to the university's 55,000 students on located in eight campuses in three countries on three continents. In addition to five of the Australian campuses MRS provides housing in the university campuse in Ruimsig, South Africa. The Monash University, Malaysia campus is not served by MRS.
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[edit] Clayton campus
Six halls of residence are located at the Clayton campus in Clayton, Victoria. MRS is also responsible for Normanby House, an off-campus accommodation building for Clayton students. In addition, Monash Residential Services is responsible for the administration of the South East Flats, several blocks of self-contained flats at the south-eastern corner of the university.
[edit] Howitt Hall
Howitt Hall is the tallest Monash residential building, standing 12 stories high, with a good view of the other halls and the university.
[edit] History
Howitt Hall is the third oldest hall, and was opened in September 1966. The hall is named after Alfred Howitt, a scholar and prominent figure in early Gippsland. The logo of Howitt, a camel, derives from the fact that Howitt never lost a camel on his search for Burke and Wills.
[edit] Structure
Unlike all the other halls of residence apart from Farrer, Howitt is organised in a floor-based design, consisting of 12 floors each housing approximately 20 residents. Each floor is furnished with bathrooms and a communal kitchen for preparing meals. This doubles as a social meeting place at meal-times. All the other halls (bar Farrer) differ in that they have one very large kitchen to service the entire hall.
[edit] Farrer Hall
Farrer Hall has a reputation for being one of the most adventurous halls at Monash. Farrer is divided into two buildings, Commons and Lords, with an annex to Commons called Chastity. The Hall has more focus on floors, with kitchens and common rooms shared across them. The computer lab as well as music room is found in the ground floor of Lords - where there are no residential rooms.
[edit] Richardson Hall
Richardson Hall is the newest of the Halls of Residence at Monash University. Richardson is home to 190 residents from a variety of backgrounds. Richardson is commonly known as the 'International hall' to residents of other halls, due to the high incidence of international students residing in Richardson, a tradition that the hall has been continuing since the mid 1970s.
Richardson Hall, along with its neighbour Roberts Hall are built around the "Stairway" concept. There are 9 residential and 1 common stairways, with each being broken into between 4 and 7 levels. Each level has between 2 and 6 residents. Usually, 5 residents share a common bathroom and kitchenette area with 10 people to a large common fridge.This arrangement offers privacy and relaxed social contact amongst relatively small groups in addition to the communal common areas. Newspapers are delivered directly to the Hall every morning, so residents can sit quietly and read the paper whilst having a coffee or waiting for their washing to finish. RA's run a small shop almost every evening, where soft drinks, snacks and other essentials can be purchased. In Richardson Hall, the stairways are numbered 2 - 9. Stairway 1 is the Common Areas containing the newly-completed Exercise Room, Computer Lab, Games Room, TV Rooms,Projector room with cable TV, Common Room, Kitchen and Laundry.
The Hall has an outlook over a lake and the University grounds with a large variety of bird life, and is close to the facilities and faculties of the University, in particular the gymnasium and swimming pools.
The Residential Support Team, made up of the RA's, Senior RA, Deputy College Head and College Head, is the primary support and management body within the Hall.
There is an opportunity for students who remain in the Hall and become senior residents, to take on leadership roles through; becoming Resident Advisors (RAs); being on the Halls Society Committee; or being elected to the Orientation Committee.
Richardson Hall has a total of 188 rooms.
[edit] Deakin Hall
Deakin Hall is a residence hall at Monash University in Australia. It was established in 1962. Deakin consists primarily international students (non-Australian), with well over 70% of students coming from overseas to study. Many of the students staying at Deakin are Medical students.
[edit] Roberts Hall
One of several Halls of Residence on Monash University in Melbourne, Roberts is administered by Monash Residential Services. Roberts Hall is named after Tom Roberts, an Australian artist who was affectionately known as 'the bulldog'. The mascot of Roberts Hall is a bulldog in recognition of this.
[edit] Structure and events
Roberts, like Richardson Hall is structured into 8 stairways with their own separate entrances, each with room for around 20 people. There is also a large common area with pool tables, tennis tables and couches. Some of Roberts' major attractions include Cultural Carnival and Roberts Christmas in Winter.
[edit] South East Flats
The South East Flats is located at the south-eastern corner of the university's Clayton campus. It is made up of two blocks of flats, and the flat sizes range from 2 bedrooms to 5 bedrooms. There are 30 flats in total, designed to accommodate 130 students. Each flat is fully furnished to include all the necessities of student life, such as chairs and a table.
The main difference between the halls of residence and the South East Flats is the support services given to the students. There is a very low level of interaction between the residents and the resident advisors; this example is set by the College Head. Thus, the resident advisors and College Head choose to keep a low profile and play a minimal and purely administrative role in the day-to-day existence of the South East Flats, as opposed to the more personal and convivial atmosphere offered at the halls of residence. Several functions are held throughout the year for the residents, however, these typically have a very low rate of attendance. 2006 saw the addition of a common recreational area, known as the pavilion; this is available exclusively to residents of the South East Flats.
Within the Monash Residential community, the South East Flats is renowned for its quiet and calm atmosphere, which is not only conducive to study, but also allows the residents to indulge in the most popular social activity at the flats, bird watching.
