We look forward to welcoming the new first years to Botha House. We are sure that you will have many fond memories of your years in residence, and at Rhodes University. This page is a brief outline of what you can expect in terms of your room, and hopefully will give you some ideas about useful things to bring along. 

There are 57 single rooms in Botha and 3 double rooms, one of which is removed from the res, (you should be able to find out if you have been allocated to a double room by looking on ROSS). Each student will get the following in their room: a single bed, wardrobe, bedside table, work desk, chair, desk lamp, dustbin, book shelf, plug point, network point, heater, mirror, towel rail, curtains, mattress, pillows, duvet, blanket, bed linen, a sink and wifi (in the main house). In the case of double rooms everything mentioned above will be provided in duplicate for the second student in the room to use. Most of the rooms do not have the luxury of basins with both hot and cold running water, however most bathrooms around res are so equiped, as well as all the showers of course.

There are showers and toilets in close proximity to every room, as well as large washing machines and tumble dryers. There are also ironing boards available in the residence if required. Bed linen (provided you are using the linen supplied by Rhodes) can be exchanged weekly for fresh clean linen within the residence. The residence passages, and communal areas are cleaned daily by the house keepers. Please note that the house keepers will not enter your room during term time, therefore your room must be kept clean and hygienic by yourself. There are vacuum cleaners available for students to use. There is also a fridge on the bottom floor for students to use. If you are planning on using the fridge, it is strongly encouraged that you keep your goods in a small lockable cooler bag as items can go missing from the fridge (this is a general problem in all residences in the university). There is one common room in Botha, which has DStv, a dvd player, couches, a pool table and a table-tennis table. Botha also boasts a braai area and a legendary bar, the home of the infamous Bengal Rifle Club.

Many students choose to kit their room out with some of their own items. This is encouraged, as it gives the student's room their own unique identity. This can be done by bringing carpets, posters, family/friends photos, their own duvet and pillow covers (the student will have to clean these themselves using the res washing machines), curtains, lava lamps, etc. Please note that fridges and pets are not allowed in the student's rooms (small gold fish bowls are allowed however). Mugs, a kettle and coffee are also useful items to have in your room when entertaining guests. For those students who wish to bring their own bicycles, there is a bicycle stand available for you to lock your bike to.

Since there are network points available in the rooms, students are encouraged to bring their own computers and network cables. Having your own computer allows you to complete assignments and connect to the internet from the comfort of your own room. There is aalso a res printer on the ground floor of the main house that is available to print your assignments. If you do not have your own computer, there are several central computer labs on campus which you should familiarise yourself with.

Please remember to bring several items of clothing as Grahamstown is known to experience many different seasons in one day. In Winter, it can get extremely cold here, and the Summers are very humid. Towels are not provided by the university, so make sure you pack your own bath and swimming towels. Each student should try and bring one smart jacket, tie, shirt, shoes, and smart pants for formal functions in the res, hall and university. These items will be used often over the years that you are at Rhodes.

Please send an email to the Founders Hall Secretary/Mother, Elize Everton at E.Everton@ru.ac.za if you have any queries or questions that are not answered above. We look forward to meeting any parents that come to Grahamstown over O-Week, as well as all the new first years.

Last Modified: Wed, 12 Oct 2016 14:28:51 SAST