Celeste House
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Since the beginning of 2009, Celeste House has turned into the only mixed post-graduate residence on campus after having been an undergraduate residence for two years. Built in the 1960’s, the flats of Celeste House were privately owned by a few Grahamstown citizens. Some years ago, the building was bought off by Rhodes University to be used as transit accommodation for Rhodes staff members.
In 2007, Celeste House joined Drostdy Hall as a mixed undergraduate residence. Located on the brim of campus, Celeste House is a few minutes walk from the heart of campus and town: 5-10 minutes from the lower part of campus, the Student Bureau, the Stephen Biko building, the Main Admin building, 5-minutes walk from the main entertainment spots in New Street and High Street and 2-minutes walk from Peppergrove mall (Pick n Pay) and BP garage.
The residence houses a blend of students representative of a uniquely diverse combination of cultures, nationalities, ages and fields of study. Celeste House comprises 32 students, namely 19 female students and 13 male students, ranging from young to older, vibrant, active and mature students. It can be proudly said to be a ‘home for all’ and in 2009, the demographics of our students exhibit a cosmopolitan representation with students from 11 different countries, ranging from African countries such as Rwanda, Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia amongst others to countries such as Mauritius and the USA.
Students in Celeste House are mature, responsible individuals all pursuing further studies after having completed their undergraduate degrees at Rhodes University or in other universities. The current students of Celeste House are registered for honours, masters and doctoral degrees in a variety of fields such as Chemistry, Journalism and Media Studies, Computer Science, Pharmacy, Economics, Music, International Studies, etc. The diversity within the house unifies the students, promoting a healthy environment conducive to academic progress, research, post-graduate studies and also contributing to their personal growth and development.
The building arrangement of Celeste House consists of 14 flats, including the warden’s flat, with each flat being a 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom flat with a kitchenette and bathroom. Rooms are equipped with an internet port and access to the internet is available provided one has signed up for the Resnet service offered by the university, for a fee. The house is provided with free laundry facilities, bathroom cleaning services and two common rooms with DSTV television facilities. Printing facilities are available within the house as long as one is connected to the Celeste Resnet server. None of the flat units in Celeste are self-catering units and cooking is not permitted in the residence. Students are required to have meals in Drostdy dining hall which is a 5-minutes walk from the residence.
The ground and top floors are allocated to female students and the middle floor is allocated to male students. Access to Celeste House is controlled by electric gates and access to the top floor is also controlled by a chip-operated gate. Residents can park their cars in any of the five garages although cars are parked at the owner’s risk. However, Celeste House is a very safe residence equipped with adequate security, and Hi-Tec security guards are on duty at night, outside the building.
Respect, privacy and consideration for others is maintained within the residence through a set of carefully structured rules found in the Drostdy Hall rule book and tailored according to the university’s Student Disciplinary Code. These are intended to encourage responsible behaviour and make life comfortable and livable for every resident of the house. The major role of the house warden is to ensure the smooth running of the house and to provide a caring environment which fosters academic success and ascertains the well-being of students. The warden is supported by a responsive, empathetic, efficient and effective management, administrative structure and a hall wardening team as well as a house leadership team composed of dedicated and committed sub-wardens and house committee members.
For more information regarding Celeste House, feel free to contact the house warden, Miss Henusha Jhundoo on h.jhundoo@ru.ac.za or the hall warden, Dr Rosa Klein on r.klein@ru.ac.za. If you wish to be allocated to Celeste House, please contact Mrs Desiree Wicks at the Student Bureau on d.wicks@ru.ac.za.
[Edited by: Henusha Jhundoo and Zoliswa Coto J ]
The house committee consists of seven portfolio positions, all of which aim to encourage interaction, active participation and integration into residence and university life. The portfolios include: Head-student, Food/Entertainment Rep, Community Engagement Rep, Sports Rep, Treasurer/Secretary, Resnet Rep. Social functions, like barbecues, or “braais”, as South Africans call it, held at least once a term, bring together the residents of the house and promote intermingling and harmony within the house.
