Residential Life Details

The numerous benefits to living on campus include opportunities to develop friendships, convenience, and to live in an environment that fosters educational and personal growth.

Residential students will (in most cases) be living with one or more roommates/apartment mates through their senior year.

Packing

Hartwick residence halls provide you with a twin XL mattress and bed, a bedside table, two sets of two-drawer dressers, closet or wardrobe, desk with built in surge protector, a desk chair, window blinds, and comfortable living space.

    • Extra-long sheets and bedding: our beds are 80 inches long
    • Pillow(s)
    • Mattress cover or pad for added comfort
    • Surge protector (Extension cords and multi outlet adapters without surge protection are NOT allowed)
    • Clothing: for all weather, including a rain coat or umbrella
    • Laundry basket and detergent
    • A shower caddy
    • Shower shoes
    • Towels (and bathrobe)
    • Coffeemaker with auto shut-off (Keurig-type machines are permitted)
    • First Aid-Kit: Make sure to bring a first aid kit with at least all of the basics
    • A fan: Air conditioners are not permitted without approval
    • Wastebasket
    • A lamp
    • A fan
    • Small rug or slippers: All floors are tile
    • Kitchen basics: Cooking pot, Tupperware bins, cup, plate, bowl, fork, knife, and spoon
    • Decorations: please refer to our fire safety policies before purchasing
    • Refrigerator: small refrigerators and microfridges are allowed in residences halls. 
  • Air conditioners (without appropriate accommodations)
    Alcohol, alcohol containers (including shot glasses, wine glasses, funnels, flasks, and other related drinking devices), and commercially produced alcohol paraphernalia (including empty bottles or cans, bottle caps, labels, or boxes)*
    Ammunition
    Amplifiers and musical instruments that amplify
    Bed Risers that have built-in outlets
    Candles (with or without wicks)
    Ceiling fans
    Curtains
    Drugs and drug paraphernalia including Hookahs
    eCigarettes and vaporizers
    Extension Cords and multi outlet plug adapters (that are not surge protected)
    Fireworks
    Flammable liquids and gases (Including gasoline, kerosene, paint thinner, propane, butane, and oil)
    Gasoline powered equipment
    Grills (Charcoal, electric, and gas)
    Halogen lamps and lightbulbs
    Heating units (Including electric units, electric blankets, space heaters, sun lamps, and electric fireplaces)
    Kitchen Appliances*, including microwaves. In rooms without a private kitchen: Coffee makers and coffee pots equipped with automatic shut offs and micro-fridges are the only food appliances allowed in residential rooms. Appliances with an open coil element such as toasters, toaster ovens, etc., are not permitted in residence hall rooms. In spaces with a private kitchen: Microwaves and small appliances with an automatic shut off and no exposed heating element are allowed. Alliances should always be kept clean and should be unplugged when not actively being used. Only one small appliance can be used at a time, to avoid overloading circuits.
    Hoverboard/Electric Skateboards (storage or charging)
    Incense
    Items hanging from ceiling, sprinkler head, or windows
    Large electrical appliances (Other than college provided appliances in the kitchens of the Apartments, Townhouse, Leitzell and Pine Lake)
    Mattresses from home
    Oil lamps
    Non-approved animals (Other than fish in 2.5 gallon or less tanks without need of a filtration system or heating unit)
    Tapestries, flags, or other fabric on walls
    Waterbeds
    Weapons (Including fire arms, BB guns, airsoft guns, paintball guns, all ammunition, and knives with the exception of kitchen knives and knives smaller than 3’ in length)
  • * Students 21 and over are allowed to possess and consume alcohol, but it must be kept responsibly.
    **For more information, please reach out to your Area Coordinator
  • Other:
    Bicycles must be stored in outdoor racks or in rooms without blocking egress. They may not be stored in lobbies, closets, or stairwells.
    State fire codes require that only 20% of the wall space can be covered with posters or pictures, for fire safety. Only paper-made posters, pictures, or decorations may be placed on the walls of the residence hall rooms. Dream catchers are permitted. Panel, barn-side, paint, wallpaper or otherwise place material on their room walls.

Your room here at Hartwick may not be as big as your room at home. If there are clothes in your closet that you haven’t worn in the past two years, it would be a good idea to leave them home; chances are you won’t start wearing them now!

Remember that we live in a seasonal climate and if you have the option to have cold weather items shipped to you or you are able to visit home before it is cold you can save space on bulky winter wear.

After you’ve gathered the basics, there may be a few comforts of home that you’ve forgotten. You can have items shipped here or visit one of our local retailers. While Oneonta does not have many of the retail options that you may be used to, we have Southside Mall, a Walmart, and a TJ Maxx.

Hartwick College holds a contract with a local company called Refrigerator Leasing Inc. for all micro fridge units. The deadline to order your rental is August 1st. The micro fridge unit will be delivered to the student’s assigned room prior to move in and will be picked up at the completion of the academic year. To order a micro fridge, please view their website here.

Roommates & Apartment Mates

It’s a good idea to get in touch with your future roommate before move-in day. This will give you an opportunity to coordinate who will bring what. It will save space in your room later on, and also provide an opportunity to break the ice with your future roommate!

In the event that a roommate departs (whether through simply moving to another space or leaving the College), it is important that the space they vacate be maintained in such a way that it is available for another student. While all reasonable efforts will be made to provide a student with advance notice that they will be receiving a new roommate, in some cases this is not always possible. If a student is aware of a roommate’s pending departure and would like to invite another specific student to fill that spot, it is important that this be communicated to the Office of Residential Life and Housing as soon as possible, so that the spot is not filled with another student.

In most cases, communication is of far greater importance than compatibility when it comes to successfully living with a roommate. While it is ideal, it is not necessary that roommates be or even become friends; what is critical is that open and honest lines of communication are maintained, so that expectations and boundaries can be established and respected. It is important to understand that all residents of a space have equal rights to that space.

Resident Advisors are an invaluable resource to the navigation of the roommate process. RAs can help navigate challenging conversations between roommates, assist in the creation of a roommate agreement, and mediate conflicts that may arise. 

There is a housing freeze for the first two weeks of classes each semester. Once the housing freeze is lifted, a student can meet with their RA to start the process, if occupancy allows. In the event of a roommate conflict, a student’s first step should always be to talk to their roommate and see if they can resolve the issue, and the second step should be to approach their RA for assistance. Please note that a roommate conflict will not necessarily result in an automatic approval for a room change request. 

Campus Mail

A student’s on-campus mailing address is:

[Insert Student Name]

1 Hartwick Drive

[Insert Box Number]

Oneonta NY 13820

Your mailbox will be located on the 3rd floor of Dewar Hall. Packages can be picked up from the Copy & Mail Center in Clark Hall.

Keys & Card Access

If a student loses their key, it is imperative that the student alerts Residential Life & Housing immediately. The student will be given a temporary key and 4 days to locate their lost key. If the key is not found within that timeframe, a core change will occur and a $50 charge will be added to the student’s account.

Failure to report a lost key puts the community’s occupants and belongings at risk.

The WICKit card is Hartwick College’s ID card and is your personal identification while on/off campus. WickIt should be directed to Technology Resources.

Campus Wireless Network and Cable

Hartwick’s Technology Resource Center is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays for phone calls and walk-ins.

Hartwick College uses a secure wireless network called Hawks-Secure.  Instructions for joining the Hawks-Secure network can be found on the Technology Resources webpage.

Hartwick has its own cable television system available in lounges, which provides a mic of entertainment and educational support programming. More information can be found on the Technology Resources page.

Dining & Meal Plans

More information about meal plans and dining locations can be found on Hartwick Dining’s page.

All students living in College residence halls are required to purchase a meal plan. All first year students will be required to purchase the all access plan.

Changes to the Fall Meal Plan must be made by Friday of the first week of classes of the fall term, and changes to the Spring Meal Plan must be made by the advertised deadline in January. Students who are new to the college in Spring semester may request a meal plan change within the first week of classes.

Guests of boarding students are welcome to any regular meals served in The Commons upon payment to the cashier.

Residential Life & Housing

4th Floor, Dewar Hall
Hartwick College
Oneonta, NY 13820
607-431-4501
reslife@hartwick.edu