Housing News and Events

Campus Living 101

Vacancy Inspections for Spring 2026

Housing and Residence Life will be assigning new Spring 2026 contracts to vacancies. Current residents with a vacancy in their apartment or residence hall suite MUST ensure the space is move in ready before they leave for Winter Break. Any vacancy not kept clean will be cleaned by custodial staff and a cleaning fee may be added to residents' accounts. Housing and Residence Life staff will be inspecting vacancies over the coming weeks and will notify residents who will receive a new roommate or suitemate for the spring semester.

Missing Mail or Packages?

You might be if you are not using the new mailing address. HRL is not responsible for incorrectly addressed mail and packages.

• Mail and packages need to be addressed to:
  Student Name
  8101 O'Daniel Lane
  Evansville, IN 47712
• Please update your mailing address for all incoming mail and packages to this new address.

Holiday Decorating Guidelines

Most of us love fall and decorating for the season. When it comes to residents using real pumpkins, you may place one outside of your door (apartments only). Residence hall students may not put pumpkins outside of their doors. Once pumpkins begin to go bad please dispose of immediately in the nearest dumpster. Also please be kind and do not smash pumpkins belonging to other residents.

Please remember the following as you get into the holiday spirit:

• Window decorations may not include profanity, illicit illegal actions, contain threatening language, prevent the opening or closing of a window, or be flammable.
• Apartment or suite numbers may not be blocked or covered by wreaths, door coverings, lights or any other decorative element.
• Peepholes may not be covered.
• Fire protections and/or emergency equipment may not be covered or altered by exterior decorations.
• Holiday or decorative lights may be used, with the following stipulations:
  • Lights may not be strung under windows or doors.
  • Only exterior outlets may be used for outside lights.
  • Lights must be UL approved for outside usage, and the label denoting such use must remain on the light strand.
  • Lights may not be strung across areas where people walk (sidewalks, balconies, stairwells, etc).

Changing from AC to Heat

• In O’Daniel North, O’Daniel South, and McDonald West, it is normal for the heat element to burn off any dust that has settled on it during the summer.
  • You could notice some smoke coming out of the unit, and it may even set off the smoke detector on the ceiling. DO NOT pull the smoke detector from the ceiling. The smoke should only last for about 15 minutes. If sparks or smoke continues to be expelled from the unit for a long period of time, or if you have a concern, turn the unit off and contact Fix My Home.
  • Another method is to do a burn-off once a week, allowing the heat element to run for five minutes. You then should experience no problems when you turn it on for normal usage in the fall or winter.
• McDonald East - You need to switch the thermostat to heat in order for the furnace to generate warm air. It may smell when you first turn it on due to burning off dust that has settled over the summer. The smell should go away after a few minutes. Open up windows if necessary.
• Residence Halls - A chill water system is what supplies cooling to residence hall rooms. During the winter when the temperature is below 50 degrees, the cooling system is shut down. This can cause the temperature in suites to rise due to no cold water. If a suite gets too warm, residents may need to open a window to let some cool air in. If the suite is too cold, residents should send in a work order to have it checked.