Students received key details about housing plans for the upcoming academic year in a Wednesday email from Joe Gonzalez, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean for residential life.
The email announced that the maximum size of blocks—groups of students who opt to live in a dorm together—will be doubled from six to twelve students. In addition, block members will live next to each other.
Gonzalez explained that this policy change will help students “follow new social and health guidelines for residence halls” while preserving “a key part of what makes Duke special—the people.”
Rising juniors and seniors will be able to live in the Washington Duke Inn as well as Blue Light, a student apartment complex on Erwin Road in Durham. According to the email, students who are eligible for those options will receive more information from Housing and Residence Life on June 24.
Gonzalez also wrote that all students will be eligible to apply to live off campus for the upcoming academic year. The off-campus lottery is currently available on a rolling basis.
Housing applications for students will be available on the Duke housing portal from June 18 to June 24 at 8 a.m. The portal will reopen July 1 for late applications. Upperclass students will receive and confirm their housing assignment and select a new meal plan the week of July 13.
The email instructed students, roommate pairs and desired blocks to redo the housing application, indicating preferences based on quad locations. Gonzalez wrote that Housing and Residence Life expects to be able to satisfy roommate requests.
Furthermore, while more single rooms will be available to students, the email specified that not all students who apply for a single will receive one. Students who receive approved housing accommodations through the Student Disability Access Office “will be offered priority placement in an available space that meets their accommodations,” Gonzalez wrote.
Gonzalez emphasized Duke’s commitment to protecting the health of students and faculty, reminding students of new campus safety precautions, including mandatory COVID-19 testing and mask usage.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Leah Boyd is a Pratt senior and a social chair of The Chronicle's 118th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 117.