Cornell University Commencement

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Accommodations: University Residence Halls

All degree candidates participating in commencement may make reservations for guest housing in the university residence halls. These facilities are available for 2010 Commencement guests on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights (May 28, 29, 30). Please read reservation procedures below.

Degree candidates are limited to reserving a maximum of eight (8) spaces (beds).

Accommodation Information

Rooms are furnished with bed sheets, blankets, pillows, and towels. The residence halls have common bathroom facilities.

Questions? Contact the Housing Office at commencement_housing@cornell.edu or 607-255-5368.

Rates

Commencement guest housing is charged at a weekend three-night package rate that includes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights (May 28, 29, 30). The rate is the same for a l, 2, or 3 night stay and includes a breakfast buffet on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Residence Halls: The 2010 housing rate is $155* per person for a 3 night stay plus Saturday & Sunday breakfast buffet.

*These rates are non-taxable.

Reservation Procedures

The following procedures have been established to provide an equitable and orderly process for making guest reservations.

Those participating in the lottery will receive accommodations.
The lottery system is for choice of location, in an orderly fashion.

Only students are permitted to participate in the online lottery process.

Degree candidates living on or off campus may make reservations for commencement guest housing through the two-step housing lottery process below.

Step 1: Enter the Commencement Housing Lottery.

When: 10:00am, February 1, 2010 through 12:00 noon, March 12, 2010.
Where: Online at Commencement Lottery Sign Up

Students must use their Cornell NetID to access the site.

Students will receive an immediate electronic reply with a randomly selected sign-up time to make the actual room reservations on March 15, 2010.

Students should print the confirmation of the sign-up time and location from the website for future reference.

Step 2: Make the actual room reservations.

Date & Place: March 15, 2010, in the 2nd floor auditorium, Robert Purcell Community Center.
Time: Refer to the confirmation for sign-up time from Step 1.

At this time, students will make the reservations for the number of spaces that the group requires up to a maximum of 8 beds for eight guests.

Proxy forms are available online and at the Residential Services Office, 206 RPCC, if a student is unable to attend the sign-up time received for Step 2 of the process.

You may reserve housing, for any remaining spaces, starting March 16, 2010 from 9:00am - 4:00pm at 206 Robert Purcell Community Center.

Degree candidates no longer living in the Ithaca area.

An on-campus housing reservation may be made by completing Step 1 of the lottery process to receive a timeslot and lottery number. The candidate may then return to the main page and complete the online reservation for out-of-town students. The request must include the following information: number of spaces (beds) required, e-mail and daytime telephone number. A reservation will be made for you according to your lottery number during the room reservation process on March 15. We will do our best to accommodate your request for location; however, please understand that some locations sell out quickly. You will be notified of your tentative reservation by March 19, via email. Your reservation will be confirmed by email upon payment.

Payment

If the degree candidate making the reservation will be registered at Cornell during the Spring 2010 semester, the charge for Commencement housing will go on the bursar account.

If not currently registered during that time, a check made payable to Cornell University, or a credit card payment, is required at Step 2 of the process. No cash will be accepted.

No refunds will be made after March 31, 2010. Cancellations through March 31 will incur a $50 cancellation fee. All cancellations must be in writing to the Housing Office, commencement_housing@cornell.edu.

Disability Housing Requests

Some residence hall space is adapted for people with disabilities. Because these facilities are very limited, we ask that anyone requesting such special housing for a guest who requires wheelchair accessibility to do so in writing by February 12, 2010. These requests should be sent by email to: commencement_housing@cornell.edu. Note: There are numerous ground floor accommodations as well as buildings with elevator access on campus. Therefore, if simply looking for space where a guest will not have to negotiate steps, the student whould ask for those buildings when making the room reservations, in Step 2 of the process.

The disability housing request must include the following information:

• Name and gender of the guest
• Description of the personal needs or limitations of the guest
• Name, address, email address, telephone number of the person making the request
• Name, address, email address, telephone number of the degree candidate
• Total number of people in the group so that all may be housed in close proximity

In order to best accommodate all requests, disability housing reservations are not confirmed until after the February 12th deadline. You will receive a reservation confirmation via email no later than February 19th.

Parking

Parking is free in the residence hall parking lots beginning Friday, May 28, on a space-available basis. Special parking permits are not needed for the weekend.

Bus Service

On Sunday, Commencement day, free bus service will be available beginning at 7:00am until 5:00pm. Buses will stop every ten to fifteen minutes at the locations noted on the campus map.

If you need help locating places on campus, please look at the Maps & Directions for assistance.