Campus Life

You have the opportunity to pursue your personal interests through a variety of cocurricular and extracurricular activities. Moreover, you are encouraged to help to meet the needs of others through a host of service programs. There are also ample avenues to develop your leadership skills, whether on a campus activity board or on the athletic fields, as well as to grow spiritually through reflective and outreach programs.

To help you make the most of your Holy Cross education, we encourage you to take advantage of our many support services. From college-life transition to academic support to wellness programs, they are designed to fully engage you — mind, body, and spirit.

Campus Recreation

The Office of Campus Recreation offers opportunities for students to take part in recreation, fitness and sports activities. These programs enhance the college experience by promoting sportsmanship; encouraging a healthy lifestyle and the development of lifelong habits; and by providing student leadership opportunities.

Learn more about campus recreation.

Chaplains’ Office

The Office of the College Chaplains supports the mission of Holy Cross through worship, community building, dialogue, service, prayer, and solidarity. In this spirit, we encourage all members of the campus community to participate in the intellectual life of the College, in the search for truth, faith, and justice.

Learn more about the Chaplains’ Office.

Community Standards

The Office of Student Integrity and Community Standards supports the College's mission “to build a community marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility.” When you enter the College, you are accepting an invitation to participate in the growth and development of our community. The high standards set for membership in this community include those of personal conduct and behavior. These standards are detailed in the College’s Community Standards Process and Procedures. All new students are expected to read, review, and understand the College’s Community Standards prior to their arrival on campus.

Learn more about our community standards on the Office of Student Integrity and Community Standards website.

Dining

Recently named one of the “7 Healthiest College Dining Halls in the Country” by Bon Appétit magazine, Holy Cross offers full-service dining services to the entire campus community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and campus guests. Students are our first priority, and you will get to know us well during your years on The Hill. We firmly believe that today’s hard-working college students should be rewarded with a dining experience that is palate-pleasing, healthy, and entertaining.

Dining Services offers an all-you-care-to-eat style of service in the award-winning Kimball Main Dining Room, as well as à la carte menus — with the option of dine-in or take-out — at our retail eateries in the Hogan Campus Center, O'Connor Family Cafe at the Performing Arts Center, Cafe Babel Starbucks, and D’Agostino Cafe.

Meal Plans

All resident students are required to purchase a meal plan.

All resident students are automatically assigned to the Standard Food Plan at $3,925 per semester and are billed through the bursar system. This plan provides unlimited access to our all-you-care-to-eat dining room located in Kimball Hall. The plan also includes 8 meal swipes per week that can be used at participating retail locations. Beyond our meal swipe options our plan includes $425 Dining Dollars, to be used at our retail dining locations across campus. Dining Dollars do not carry over and must be used before the end of the semester. Our retail location details, menus, and hours of operation can be viewed on our website at HolyCross.edu/dining.

Physical Student I.D. cards (OneCard) are required to access your Standard Food Plan at all dining locations. Photos of ID cards will not be accepted. Learn more about our meal plans. If you have any questions or need assistance with your plan, call Dining Services at 508-793-3385 or email wdavey@holycross.edu.

Holy Cross Bands

The Holy Cross Bands include the Goodtime Marching Band, Crusader Pep Band, and Holy Cross Wind Ensemble. Whether performing in world-class concert halls or historic athletic venues, the Holy Cross Bands are committed to serving and engaging the campus community with quality music, excellent people, and enjoyable experiences.

We are actively seeking new members to participate in our programs and ensembles. For more information, please email bands@holycross.edu. Learn more about the Holy Cross Bands.

Housing

All residence halls also have study areas, community living rooms, and shared kitchens. Each floor is staffed by a resident assistant (RA) who helps maintain a healthy environment that promotes academic success, individual growth, and respect for others. In addition, area coordinators (ACs), who are full-time live-in staff professionals, help create an environment that fosters principles of academic excellence, student development, and community responsibility.

Telephone Services

Holy Cross can provide you with local telephone service for your room on campus upon request, though most students now use their cell phones. If you wish to activate the telephone jack in your room, please call the ITS Help Desk at 508-793-3548. You will need to supply your own telephone handset. This will allow incoming phone calls and outgoing local calls but would require a calling card to make any calls outside the Worcester area.

Television

Each residence hall room has a cable jack that is active for basic and expanded basic cable TV. Students must provide their own digital-compliant TV. Charter Spectrum is the cable provider for the College. For more information, please visit www.spectrum.com.

The digital TV service provided to students is only accessible with a Digital QAM tuner. Without it TVs will not be able to show digital content or HD cable channels provided by Spectrum. Most HDTVs manufactured after 2006 have a QAM tuner built in. To find out if your TV has one, search online by make/model of your TV, or reference your TV owner’s manual for the specific model and tuner information. To resolve specific model issues, refer to the TV manufacturer’s website.

Ethernet and Wi-Fi

All residence halls offer Wi-Fi service. Each room also has two Ethernet ports for students who wish to use a wired connection. The wireless network, HCWireless, requires your network username and passphrase, which needs to be re-entered on all your devices when your passphrase changes. The guest wireless network, HCGuest, requires a guest registration daily. If your guests are from another institution that participates in Eduroam, they can connect to the Eduroam wireless network. You can use Eduroam when visiting other campuses that participate in this wireless network by using your email address and network passphrase for authentication.

There is a range of personal electronic devices we support on campus; however, the manufacturer may not have designed the device to work on a network larger than the one you have at home. Please report any issues you may have to the Help Desk and they can usually get the device to work on a campus-sized network.

MicroFridge Rentals

MicroFridges — a two-door refrigerator and freezer combined with a microwave—are available for students to rent or purchase from Collegiate Concepts, Inc. The units are specially wired to meet fire code regulations in the residence halls. Due to electrical load limits, freestanding microwaves are not allowed in the residence halls. For more information, please visit www.collegefridge.com or call 888-929-0806. MicroFridge will donate a portion of the proceeds to support programming and development for our resident assistants.

Laundry/Linen

Each residence hall is equipped with common laundry facilities, which include washers and dryers. The College has a “Free Start” Laundry program in all residence halls. There is no need for quarters or a credit card to use the machine. You will select the machine to use and just follow the instructions to complete your laundry.

Students can find available laundry machines and receive text alerts when their cycle is completed at https://laundrytrackerconnect.com using the location ID “Crusaders.” When purchasing bed linens, please keep in mind that you will be fitting a twin extra-long bed (80" long by 36" wide). Residence Hall Linens can supply extra-long bed linens to residents. Students and parents are able to view or purchase linens at www.rhl.org/chc or by calling 800-957-4338.

Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services

The Campus Laundry, located within the Hogan Campus Center, is provided by E&R Cleaners. Included are a weekly wash/dry/fold service, fresh towel rentals, fresh bed and bath linen rentals, fresh comforter and blanket plans, and weekly dry cleaning plans. For more information regarding service plans and pricing, please visit www.thecampuslaundry.com.

Environmental Services

Holy Cross Environmental Services staff clean and maintain all common areas in the residence halls, including lounges, hallways, and bathrooms. In addition, once a week they empty the garbage and vacuum the floors of all student rooms. If a room generates a large amount of trash that cannot wait for weekly removal by the building services staff, students should dispose of it in the residence hall dumpster.

Furnishings

All residence hall rooms are furnished with a bed (twin extra-long), a desk/chair, and a dresser for each student. Individual closet spaces/wardrobes are also provided. Windows have either curtains or blinds.

Personal Property

Due to space constraints, the college is unable to store personal property outside the normal academic year. We also suggest that students and/or parents consider ensuring that personal property is insured either through parents, homeowners insurance, or by purchasing additional insurance coverage. Residence Life and Housing has worked with National Student Services Inc. (NSSI) in the past and we have brochures that will be available. Additional information can be found at www.nssi.com.

Americans with Disability Act

Students requesting housing accommodation under the Americans with Disability Act must provide all supporting documentation and contact Dr. Neal Lipsitz by July 7, 2023 at 508-793-3693 or nlipsitz@holycross.edu. Please follow the documentation guidelines as indicated on the Office of Accessibility Services website.

Access to Resident Facilities

All exterior doors to student resident halls and female corridors are locked 24 hours a day. An electronic computerized card access system monitors all exterior doors and the corridor doors to the women’s areas.

Access to the halls is by the Holy Cross Crusader One Cards, which are issued by the Department of Public Safety. The cards are programmed to allow access into the resident halls. Students are encouraged to report all missing and lost cards as soon as possible. All reported missing and lost cards are immediately removed from the card access system when replacement cards are issued. All exterior doors to the resident halls are equipped with an anti-prop/vandalism device. This device activates an alarm in the Public Safety Dispatch Center when a door is propped or held open. When an alarm is activated, a public safety officer will be dispatched to investigate the cause of the alarm.

Residence Hall Room Accessories

Holy Cross provides each student with an extra-long twin bed, a dresser, and desk/chair. The room also has either a built-in closet or wardrobe. Storage space is limited, therefore we suggest you contact your assigned roommate(s) to discuss what each plans to bring, to avoid duplication. For media access, each room contains a cable TV jack, phone connection, and Ethernet jack. Each residence hall also has Wi-Fi service.

What to Pack

This academic year, moving into your residence hall is going to look a little different. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Residence Life and Housing at reslife@holycross.edu or 508-793-2411.

Things to Consider While Packing

Pack as lightly as you can. Note that all students will be asked to move out of their assigned residence hall room at the end of in-person classes. Additionally, students will be expected to return home within 24 hours should the College return to remote learning due to a viral outbreak. Keep this in mind as you decide on which items you really need with you for the fall semester.

Label your packed items with your name and room number.

Apparel

Clothes for summer/fall and all types of weather (check out the typical weather in Worcester for August-December to help you decide what you may need)

Linens

Hangers
Laundry bag & detergent
Mattress pad
Pillow, pillowcases, sheet, and bedspread/comforter (Twin XL)
Towels and washcloths

Office Supplies

Computer
Portable laptop power bank
Pens and/or pencils
Stapler
3M Command brand hooks or adhesive strips (use of nails, screws, and tape is not allowed)

Toiletries

Shower bucket/tote
Shower shoes such as flip-flops
Personal toiletries

Home Goods

Plastic storage bins/boxes
Alarm clock
Surge protector power strips
Umbrella
Cleaning/Disinfectant supplies
Bed risers (store-bought only — no cinder blocks)
Flashlight and batteries
UL-approved lamp
Plates, cups, bowls, and utensils
Food storage containers (tightly sealed)
Pitcher with water filter
Window fan

Items Not Allowed in Residence Halls

Examples of items that are considered potential fire hazards:

Large tapestries
Curtains
Toasters/toaster ovens
Hot plates/George Foreman grills
Candles or incense
Extension cords (please use surge protectors instead)
Halogen lamps

Examples of items that cause disruption of services:

Wireless routers and wireless printers (may be used when set up with ITS assistance)
Air conditioners (any type)
Microwaves (except MicroFridge units)

Examples of items that jeopardize the health and safety of others:

Pets (up to 10-gallon fish tanks only are allowed)
Cinder blocks
Firearms (including paintball and AirSoft)
Bows
Lofts (that create a bunk-bed structure)

Please review the On-Campus Living Responsibilities section (pages 28-31) of the Community Standards Process and Procedures document. This is a great resource to learn what items are prohibited in the residence halls, as well as the responsibilities of residents. Keep these details in mind as you pack for the fall semester.

Multicultural Education

The Office of Multicultural Education (OME) welcomes the diversity of our first-year students. Each year we recognize the many identities, experiences, and stories you bring, which serve to further enhance the richness of our campus life. We hope that you will find Holy Cross to be a campus community where you feel a sense of belonging, acceptance, and fulfillment. The office will help you find connections, resources, and opportunities for involvement, leadership, and service.

Learn more about the Office of Multicultural Education.

Student Involvement and Leadership

The Office of Student Involvement provides an array of opportunities for students to get involved: from leadership development programs to over 100 clubs and organizations, these opportunities help first-year students, in particular, meet new people, make friends, explore your interests, and contribute to a vibrant campus culture.

Learn more about the Clubs and Organizations offered at Holy Cross, the Student Government Association, and the Office of Student Involvement.

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