News & Media

To help kick off our annual pride events at the university, DePaul Housing would like to share an announcement about All Gender Housing. While we have always been committed to providing safe, inclusive, and supportive living experiences for all residents living on campus, our department is developing a more public and formal process for All Gender Housing. 

With the support of leadership at DePaul, you will see changes on the Housing website and resident portal offering housing options for all identities. DePaul University and our department’s desire for inclusivity, transparency, and the formation of defined communities for DePaul students is a step towards progress, change, and support, particularly for those who hold marginalized genders and sexualities. The work is under way and details about the all gender housing initiative are forthcoming. In the meantime, students with questions or in need of resources may email housing@depaul.edu to find a living arrangement that best meets their needs. 

DePaul Housing would like to thank and acknowledge Residential Education, the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, and Office of Gender Equity. Through these partnerships across DePaul, more students will have even greater opportunities to live comfortably and safely. 

While the weather is getting a little warmer in Spring Quarter, DePaul Housing needs to set expectations with students by sharing information about temperature control inside its residential buildings. 

Until the weather forecast calls for consistently warmer daytime temperatures, with nighttime lows at least in the 60s and no cooler temperatures expected in the 7-10 day forecast, we cannot switch to air conditioning. The following outlines equipment limitations and local laws related to building temperature: 

(1) Unlike a residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system that simply involves flipping a switch to turn on the A/C, our residence halls work with a different type of system that is common in large buildings, like high-rise condominiums. The piping system circulates only hot water or only cold water through fan units to control the temperature in each room. Transitioning from heating to cooling alone is labor intensive and takes up to one week to complete. The process involves shutting down the equipment that provides the hot water, closing certain valves, de-winterizing the large chiller unit on the roof that supplies the chilled water, getting the chiller unit and pumps up and running, and opening other valves so the chilled water and flow through the building. 

(2) In May, the nighttime temperature can range anywhere from the high 40s to low 60s. Our A/C systems will not operate when the outside temperature is below 65 degrees. When that occurs, the large chiller unit on the roof that provides the chilled water for the A/C shuts down to prevent it from being damaged by running when the outside temperature is too low. 

(3) The City of Chicago heat ordinance requires a minimum indoor temperature of 68 degrees during the daytime hours and 66 degrees during the overnight hours from September 15 through June 1 each year.

As you can see, the A/C issue is much more complex than just flipping a switch and turning it on. Historically, the switchover to A/C usually occurs sometime in mid to late May, but it is dependent on the forecasts. As you have witnessed, Chicago weather can vary widely. Facility Operations is continuously monitoring the forecast and will make the switch from heat to A/C as soon as they are confident that the nighttime lows will not be too low where heat would be required.

In the meantime, to keep cool on warmer days, we recommend turning off the blower unit in your room, opening your window, and running a fan. Ideally, if you can place a fan in the window to pull the cooler outside air in, this will also help.

On April 8, 2022, the following message was emailed to Lincoln Park residents:

After careful monitoring and thoughtful deliberation, we have decided to return to our regular visitor policy starting Monday, April 11, which allows up to 2 visitors per resident. Visitors without a DePaul ID card must present a government-issued ID and show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to the front desk staff in order to gain entry. Please review guidance on the Visitor Policies webpage carefully to avoid a visitor policy violation.

We continue to base our decisions regarding visitors on current COVID cases across the city and on the DePaul campus, as well as the CDC's COVID-19 Community Levels. Should numbers climb to a medium or high level, we will likely adjust our visitor policy by limiting the number of visitors or type of visitors (i.e., external guests, parents/guardians, DePaul students) allowed. 

We thank you again for your unyielding patience and understanding. With your cooperation we have been able to keep you and our on-campus community safe. 

On April 4, 2022, the following message was emailed to Lincoln Park residents:

Due to the small increase in COVID cases after Spring Break, the current visitor policy remains the same, which allows up to 2 DePaul student visitors or 2 parent/guardian visitors. We are closely monitoring cases this week and hope to send another visitor policy update as soon as Friday, April 8, providing numbers decline.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we navigate through the pandemic together. You will hear from us again soon.

For the latest news, events, and activities from our department check out the Winter 2022 "Under Our Roof" Family Newsletter. Please pay close attention to information regarding Room Selection.

On February 28, 2022, the following message was emailed to Lincoln Park residents:

As stated in our visitor policy update from Monday, February 21, DePaul Housing and Residential Education were going to publish an announcement on the Visitor Policies webpage after another 2-week evaluation period. However, we’ve experienced a noticeable decrease of on-campus COVID cases this past week and will allow each resident up to 2 DePaul student visitors OR 2 parent/guardian visitors. This will take effect today (Monday, February 28).

To set expectations for all, we have been working on a level system to help make decisions about our visitor policy. We will share the visitor policy level system with on-campus residents once it is ready. At this time, we are confident that we have reached a new level based on the continued decline of case numbers throughout the city and on campus.

While we continue to fine tune our metrics, we are very hopeful as we are seeing a trend towards lower case numbers. If this continues, we will likely return to our normal visitor policy shortly after Spring Break, which would allow outside guests with a valid form of government-issued identification. Therefore, the current visitor policy will remain intact through the first week of Spring Quarter. Please expect the next update to occur on Monday, April 4.

The current visitor policy will continue to allow 1 DePaul student visitor or 1-2 parent/guardian visitors. For more information, please visit the Visitor Policies webpage. Residents may expect another visitor policy update in 2 weeks, unless otherwise stated. 

On February 7, 2022, the following message was emailed to Lincoln Park residents:

As always, thank you for your continued patience as we have continued to navigate COVID-19 cases on campus throughout January. We are encouraged to report that we experienced a slight decrease in on-campus COVID cases this week and, as a result, staff has decided to make the following adjustment to the visitor policy effective Monday, February 7, which will allow:

• 1-2 parents/guardians (must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination) per student host

-OR-

• 1 DePaul student visitor per student host

- Meaning, a DePaul student who lives on campus or off campus may visit a resident who lives in a DePaul residence hall or apartment.

Full instructions will be outlined on the Visitor Policies webpage on February 7 at 8:00 a.m. (CST). You and your visitor(s) must follow these instructions, so you are prepared to check-in at the front desk.

As a reminder, all guests must be masked at all times during the sign-in process. Any visitor refusing to wear a mask will not be allowed to sign-in.

We also encourage you to read our new Campus Life During COVID packet so we may continue to keep each other healthy and safe during the pandemic. Thank you again for sticking with us during these challenging times. From here, please look for any updates to the visitor policy every two weeks.

On January 31, 2022, the following message was emailed to Lincoln Park residents:

At this time, the current visitor policy will remain intact for at least another week. The number of COVID cases in the City of Chicago has declined this month, which is an encouraging sign. However, the number of positive cases in DePaul student housing has increased.

Please know that the next evaluation period and visitor policy update will occur in the next week, no later than Monday, February 7. Within that timeframe, we will also provide resident-specific guidance and tips to help prevent the spread of COVID and keep our residential communities safe.

Our staff understands the challenges all of you have faced throughout the pandemic. We had hoped to lift certain restrictions today, so you could enjoy more opportunities to socialize face-to-face (which is an essential part of the college experience). However, we need to be cautious and careful based on the numbers. Unlike other buildings on campus, residence halls and apartments operate around the clock to be places of comfort, sleep, and refuge for students. We do everything we can to keep it that way.

We are always thinking about the needs of our residents, and we strongly feel that this is the right course to provide the best and safest experience possible. We encourage you to review our COVID-19 Campus Housing Information webpage until the next visitor policy update.

Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation.

Effective January 18, 2022: Visitors will not be permitted inside residential buildings on the Lincoln Park Campus due to the spread of the Omicron variant and increase in COVID cases. Staff will conduct another 2-week evaluation and provide a new visitor policy update on Monday, January 31.

Please visit the Visitor Policies webpage for more details.

The following announcement made on Wednesday, December 29, 2021:

Between December 30, 2021, and January 17, 2022, visitors will not be permitted inside residential buildings on the Lincoln Park Campus due to the spread of the Omicron variant and increase in COVID cases. The only visitor policy exemption is for new residents who may need 1-2 moving helpers on their scheduled move-in day⁠—all other visitors are not allowed.

For more information, go to the Visitor Policies webpage. Thank you for your cooperation.

The following announcement made on Monday, November 1, 2021:

Effective November 5, 2021, DePaul Housing is transitioning to Phase 3 of the visitor policy which allows: 

For the latest news, events, and activities from our department check out the Fall 2021 "Under Our Roof" Family Newsletter. Please pay close attention to information regarding the Winter Break Closure.

The Department of Housing, Dining & Student Centers is excited to announce the latest development from partner Chartwells Higher Education. Chartwells, a leader in contract food service management, is launching a new dining brand for the university: Blue Demon Dining powered by Chartwells. (Click here to read the full DePaul Newsline article.)