 The Upper Quad – It’s In the Middle of Everything!
As soon as you move-in to the Upper Quad (fondly called around these parts the UQ), you’ll see what we’re talking about – close to classes, close to Holloway, close to everything happening in the MUB! Students find this place to be close and convenient to everything they are into. Check out more here!
Yep, the Upper “Quad” is Three Buildings!
Hitchcock, Randall and Devine Hall connect to become the UQ. It’s a place where folks from all over and many walks of campus come to meet up with people. Over 94% of UQ residents like living here! Filled with both upperclassmen and first years alike, it’s a popular building where residents often return to live for most of their years on campus. The UQ is one of the two halls open during breaks (see the Housing webpage for more details) and we tend to be home to many athletes which is great too!!! But that’s not all…
Here’s the breakdown...
 Hitchcock Hall is comprised of three great floor communities. Currently the first and third floors are all women and the second floor is an all male floor. But, that’s all about to change. Starting in Fall ’08, Hitchcock Hall will be all women and be directly connected to the co-ed floors in Randall and Devine. Hitchcock has a large lounge that is used for studying. It also has a fireplace where residents can play games, study, or just hang out with everyone. It’s also been home this year to a hot cocoa making social and a place to breaking boards and academic obstacles. A newly renovated courtyard just outside gives students a great opportunity to hang out when the weather gets warmer. Students love living in Hitchcock because it is the closest residential building to a lot of our academic buildings.
 Randall Hall is comprised of four floors and it sits in the middle of the UQ. The ground floor is a small female floor with a great private lounge that’s perfect for studying or hanging out. Randall 2nd floor is all women and traditionally houses a great mix of first year and upperclass students. First and third floors of Randall are coed. 1st floor is home to the large Randall Study Lounge and a full kitchen. The lounge has lots of space for social activities, cards, games, and is home to our weekly Hall Council Meetings, It’s even got a fireplace for a nice little area to connect with others over a crackling flames. The Randall First Floor Lounge is definitely a great place to hang out or study!
Devine Hall is comprised of five floors co-ed, flex floors, and currently house two of our themed floors. The first floor is the Common Purposes floor. Common Purposes offers students a challenging and supportive environment in which to explore issues of human diversity, as well as the opportunity to develop the critical skills needed to excel in a multicultural world. With support from the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and Residential Life, residents engage one another on issues of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and religion. For Fall ’08, it’s moving over to Serc C and check out this page for more details (http://www.unh.edu/residential-life/cp.htm)
The second floor is the Living in Harmony floor. Students share a common interest in music, both performing and listening! Late night jam sessions and coffee houses are popular events on the floor. Up on 3rd and 4th floor of Devine are two great communities that have traditionally had a great mix of upperclass and first year students in a mix of doubles, singles, and traditional size triples (rooms built to house 3 people).
Devine also houses the Niche (a giant lounge) where residents will find a pool table, a kitchen and a TV. The Niche is where everything happens from exploring diversity to Superbowl Parties to sticking people with duct tape to the walls during Floor Wars! Along with the Devine Niche, there are lounges on each of the floors for studying or floor socials events. On the ground floor of Devine is also a large study lounge filled with comfy couches and long tables for study groups to spread out.
Life in the Q Slideshow
Academics In the UQ
One of the best parts about living in the UQ is the amount of time students tend to spend time on their academics. Last semester the average UQ GPA was 3.0!! That’s excellent. In order to encourage students studying habits, nightly the RAs pass around study bucks. At the end of the semester, students who have accumulated these study bucks pass them in for a chance at great prizes from UNH Blankets to MP3 players to movies at the semi-annual Study Buck Raffle! Education pays off in the long run and, in the UQ and in the short run too!!
Throughout the semester, the hall staff gets together at education events in the hall to discuss study tips, creating academic goals for all the students, and breaking boards to achieve academic success. In the UQ, academics is valued by everyone!
Fun the Q!
The RAs are excellent social programmers. Here are a few that the staff has put on throughout the semester:
- Brick Painting (to encourage folks to keep their doors open)
- Pumpkin carving/Pumpkin Seed Baking
- Holiday Socials
- Cigar Smoking Socials with the Guys
Difference Is Accepted In the UQ
In the Upper Quad, you ’ll live with some of the most diverse communities on campus. It is fortunate the UQ has been the home to Common Purposes, but even beyond the multicultural community is a vast community of accepting and respectful students throughout. 95% of UQ students felt bias events were well documented and responded to last semester and 93% feel most people are respected here.
In the UQ, we are home to the world. We have students from Cameroon, Denmark, Japan, and beyond!!
Community Service and Healthy Living in the UQ
 Both of these are valued in the UQ. We are home to student-athletes, have a very popular intramurals program, are are a hop-skip-and a jump to the Rec Center on campus. Students regularly make the 5 minute walk to the center to join their workout classes, run around the track, and more of what the recreation staff has to offer.
From projects with campus organizations like Project Sunshine, Relay for Life, Alpha Phi Omega, Circle K and more, there are UQ residents that are always willing to lend a hand. This year each of the three halls has tried to put together a service partnership. Hitchcock created a letter writing campaign with St. Jude’s Hospital, our Hall Council collected soda tabs to donate to the Shiners, and there’s even more happening soon! If service is your thing, you’ll definitely have a voice and support from students here in the UQ. |
