Dining
Campus dining is located on the first floor of Fidel. Food is available in the food court and Fire & Ice Coffee Shop throughout each day of the academic semester. All dining on campus is provided by Chartwells, a foodservices company contracted by the University. Students must have their Student ID in order to use their meal plan for campus dining. When entering the dining area, students will give their ID to the dining staff who will verify the ID photo matches the person entering and then debit their meal account. If students do not have their ID, they will be required to return or pay cash. Students may use their available meals to treat others to campus meals. Students are asked to be conscientious that wasting food, removing dishes from the dining room, and vandalizing dining property results in increased cost for everyone. Behavior that compromises the sanitation of the food service area and dining room will be addressed by food service management and/or Residential Life Staff. Chartwells will make every effort to accommodate students’ health considerations. Whether they have special dietary needs or would like to get a to-go meal during illness, students are welcome to call Chartwells’ staff directly at 575-835-5111 to request special arrangements. Or, just visit the dining room and speak with a manager or supervisor. Current information on meals and dining times may be found online at: www.dineoncampus.com/nmt.
First Year Students
Our department recognizes that traditional first year students (ages 20 years of age or younger that are starting school at new Mexico Tech for the first time) are in very formative years in their lives. Our experience has been that first year students who live in the residence halls have a better experience than those living in apartments. New students living in apartments feel isolated and have a harder time connecting with their peers. In order not to put first year students in a disadvantage we require that they live in a traditional residence hall at least their first semester at New Mexico Tech. We will make exceptions for students who need medical accommodations that would require them to have access to a kitchen.
Internet
Internet service is available to all residential students in University residence halls and apartments via the Residential Computer Network (RCN). Technical support is available for setting up your desktop, laptops and other electronic devices. All residents must read the RCN Policies and students are required to comply with all related policies and guidelines published by Information Technology and Communications and the University. Detailed information can be found online at: https://www.nmt.edu/itc/rcn.php. For technical support, you may contact ITC by phone at 575-835-5700.
Laundry
Laundry rooms are available for students living in all University residences. No coins or electronic payment are necessary to use the provided washers and dryers. The washing machines are rated as High Efficiency and only High Efficiency “HE” detergent is permitted to be used. Machines should only be used for their intended purpose and according to any instructions posted in the laundry room. Residents may not use the washers to dye fabric or for any commercial purpose. Campus washers and dryers may only be used by students assigned to the residential area where the laundry facilities are located unless special permission is given by Residential Life in advance. Residents are not permitted to install washers or dryers in their bedrooms or apartments.
Tech’s Post Office is located on the first floor of Fidel. All NMT students can obtain a post office box to receive mail after submitting a post office box request at the post office. Mail is delivered to boxes Monday-Friday. If you receive a package, you will find a notice in your box. You must pick up all packages at the Post Office. All personal packages must be sent to your personal box and not to the Residential Life Office or your residence hall/apartment building. Any packages that require a physical address can be sent to you by adjusting the listing of your standard PO address as follows:
Your Name
Campus Station #(Your Box Number)
Socorro, NM 87801
Maintenance and Work Orders
When residents discover something in their University room or apartment is damaged or not working properly, they should contact Residential Life staff promptly. For non-urgent matters, residents should email any work order requests to: residential_life@nmt.edu. Upon receipt of the request, a resident assistant or other staff member will respond to the student’s room to take a look at the problem before forwarding the request to Facilities Management. If possible, residents should include a phone number in their work order request. Residents can expect to receive a response to their request within three business days. For any issues requiring immediate attention, residents must telephone the Residential Life Office at 575.835.5900 or call Campus Police at 575.835.5434 during the weekend and afterhours. Facilities Management (FM) will respond promptly to maintenance emergencies (power outages, leaking water, etc.) regardless of the time of day. Once a non-emergency work order is submitted to Facilities Management, residents should expect FM to respond within one to three business days. Work orders are generally addressed between the hours of 10am and 5pm, Monday through Friday. Allow sufficient time for non-emergency work orders request to be completed. If a request is not addressed within a few business days, please email Residential Life at Residential_Life@nmt.edu so our office can communicate directly with Facilities Maintenance. When a staff member needs to enter a room the resident will need to step out in order to allow that person to make a repair. This way the student and staff member keep an appropriate social distance.
In general, Facilities Management prefers to address work orders when a resident is available at their room/apartment. When residents are not there, FM employees are not expected to enter student rooms alone but may come in with other FM or Residential Life staff. Except in cases of emergency or by special request of the student or Residential Life, FM personnel will not enter family apartments unless a registered resident of the apartment is home. Family housing residents are encouraged to provide their contact information and availability when requesting maintenance. All residents are encouraged to communicate any privacy concerns or availability requests to the RA or staff person making a work order request on their behalf. FM personnel are courteous and will always take students’ preferences into consideration, but ultimately they have a responsibility to ensure University property is maintained and secure. If an employee responds to a work order and is turned away, the expectation is the student will communicate that same day with Residential Life to reschedule a better time. If the resident fails to reschedule and persistently denies entrance to Facilities a $50 refusal of service fee may be charged to the student’s account. If a student is not comfortable being alone with Facilities staff they may request a member of Residential Life to be present.
The University shall perform all maintenance to University residences and grounds, but the resident will be charged for maintenance due to his/her action or negligence except for that which is normal or routine and in conjunction therewith. The University shall have the right through its agents and employees to enter Student rooms and apartments for the purpose of examining, inspecting and maintaining same. The Student shall maintain the property in a clean and sanitary fashion
Oil Changes
Facilities Management has agreed to allow Tech residents use space by their garage in order for students to change engine oil. This provides residents a location to service their vehicles and discard old oil. Students are not permitted to use campus parking lots or any other unauthorized areas for changing oil or conducting automobile repairs. Please contact the Residential Life Office if you have questions. Parking There are no parking permits necessary for students or visitors to park their vehicles on campus. Motor vehicles illegally or improperly parked in handicapped spaces, fire lanes, or other no-parking/specially designated spaces are subject to being ticketed and/or towed at the owner’s expense. Drivers are responsible for cleaning up any mess left in the parking lot from their vehicle (mud, oil, litter, etc). Desert Willow Apartments have designated spots and residents are expected to park only in spots marked for their registered unit. As part of Torres Hall’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification, a portion of the Torres parking lot has spaces designated exclusively for low-emissions vehicles.
Telephones
Wired telephone service is not readily available in University residences. If you wish to have a wired telephone in your room to make local or long distance calls, you may contact ITC (Information Technology and Communications) by email at ITCWorkorder@nmt.edu or by phone at 575-835-5700 to request installation and activation of telephone service. In some campus buildings, including on the first floor of Fidel, landlines are available to reach Campus Police or other University extensions.