University of California, Irvine student housing

Freshmen are typically assigned to live in either Middle Earth or Mesa Court; each residence hall is managed by a student Resident Advisor. Freshmen are no longer assigned to Arroyo Vista which accommodates continuing students in special theme houses, with the exception of those who are enrolled in the Campuswide Honors Program.

Because of increasing enrollment in recent years, on-campus housing is only guaranteed for freshmen and transfer students. As of 2006, freshmen may take advantage of a two-year university housing guarantee. Furthermore, all freshmen receive academic advising, introductory university seminars, and freshmen-only activities through UCI's new First Year Initiative.

Built in 1965, Mesa Court was the first housing complex established at UCI.[1] Middle Earth started out with seven halls: Hobbiton, Isengard, Lorien, Mirkwood, Misty Mountain, Rivendell, and The Shire. Phase II later opened in 1989–1990 with additional thirteen halls: Balin, Harrowdale, Whispering Wood, Woodhall, Calmindon, Grey Havens, Aldor, Rohan, Gondolin, Snowbourn, Elrond, Shadowfax, and Quenya, Lastly in Fall 2000, Crickhollow, Evenstar, Oakenshield, and Valimar were opened. This contrasts with Mesa Court, which is built on expansive and hilly terrain (which sometimes deters non-essential travel) and located far from Ring Road and the central campus. Additionally, Mesa Court has a large number of high-volume residence halls on the far side of the campus, thus encouraging more socialization within specific dormitories themselves. However, each community has a distinct personality and pride all their own, with students identifying strongly with the community in which they reside. Additionally, it is not uncommon for students from both housing communities to intermingle and attend each other's events.

Both Mesa Court and Middle Earth offer general use dormitories alongside theme dormitories. Themes vary widely and include Campuswide Honors, leadership, diversity, LGBT issues, school-or major-specific programs, drug abstinence, and the like. Incoming freshmen usually have their choice of dormitory theme (or lack thereof), and residence in any given dormitory offers significant dividents for those who actively participate in theme events. The general theme for the dorms in Mesa Court is based on Spanish names such as Laguna, Niebla and Jardin. As for Middle Earth the general theme is based on the popular series The Lord of the Rings. Some dorm names include Crickhollow and Evenstar. In Mesa Court, the dorms are arranged in suites of four or five rooms and a study room which is shared by the suite. The dorms are usually two or three stories with about three suites on each floor. Middle Earth includes hall houses with 45 – 75 residents. Most rooms are double occupancy, but there are also triples in Phase II and Phase III halls. Quenya has 60 single rooms. The suites in the Middle Earth halls include about five - seven rooms which may be single-sex or coed. Each room is furnished with beds, wardrobes, desks, bookcases, and chairs. Each hall has access to a small kitchen, laundry facilities, and a common room with a TV.

A dormitory in Middle Earth

Middle Earth is a student housing complex at the University of California, Irvine[2][3] that houses approximately 1,690 students in 24 residence halls. The names of the halls and other facilities were selected from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium.[4]

Middle Earth is located along Ring Road, toward the core of the university's campus. The residence halls were built in three consecutive phases, beginning in 1974.[3][5] The first phase was designed by William Pereira.[6] The last phase was completed in the summer of 2019 and officially opened September 16, 2019; although reported in the media as being called the two towers of Middle Earth,[7] its two buildings are actually named Telperion and Laurelin, after the Two Trees of Valinor.

Residents of Middle Earth and Mesa Court are required to choose and pay for a meal plan to complement their monthly rent expenses; voluntary meal plans are available to all other students and community members. These meal plans may be employed at one of many on-campus eateries such as Phoenix Grille, B.C.'s Cavern on the Green, and Bistro by the Bridge (through the use of debit ZotBucks), or in one of three dining halls.

The two main dining halls, Mesa Commons and Pippins Commons, are located in Mesa Court and Middle Earth, respectively. Middle Earth also has a second dining hall, Brandywine, which specializes in freshly prepared food and quick entrees. Most students at UCI prefer Pippins Commons and Brandywine over Mesa Commons. Even though Pippins Commons and Brandywine are across campus from Mesa Court, many Mesa residents find it a treat, worthy of their time, to walk to Pippins and Brandywine just to eat! Thursday dinners are referred to as "premium night," a tradition that offers patrons particularly high-quality meals (with past meals including grilled steak and crab legs). Every month, both of the Commons host a special birthday event or theme dinner (with past themes promoting foods from Hawaii, China, Latin America, and so forth). The Commons are both open throughout the weekday and twice during the weekends (for brunch and dinner); Brandywine is generally closed on weekends and offers a more limited weekday schedule.

All undergraduate student housing complexes at UC Irvine employ a two-tier structure for planning and implementing social activities. The first tier involves Resident Advisors (RAs) and House Assistants (HAs), whose responsibilities include planning social activities for their residents. These student staff members employ a housing budget to plan events that revolve around a housing theme (if it exists), an educational theme, a special event (such as a faculty lecture), and community development (social activities). RAs and HAs are required to host a set number of each aforementioned type of event each quarter; most often exceed this requirement. Many ad hoc and impromptu events are also organized and held outside of the housing office's requirements, making student staff relatively autonomous when implementing events. Accountability comes in the form of extensive paperwork documenting event descriptions, the number of participants, and all budgetary expenses.

The second tier involves Community Programmers (CPs) and housing office professional staff, who plan complex-wide events. These individuals are responsible for developing community-wide events to create cohesion amongst all residents, regardless of the building in which they live. These events usually employ larger budgets and bigger publicity efforts, and must also be held accountable for planning and expenses. These complex-wide events may either be held in the local community center, open space, or available dormitory. Additionally, CPs and the professional staff are required to host a set number of monthly events.

Residents of Vista del Campo rely upon Community Assistants (CAs), who are roughly analogous to Resident Advisors in Campus Village. However, CAs have far fewer responsibilities for social activities in comparison to student staff with UCI Student Housing. Additionally, specific dormitories or houses with special themes may have additional student staff on hand to plan events. For example, Sierra in Mesa Court employs Sierra Programmers (SPs) to articulate the dormitory's unique diversity theme, while the Campuswide Honors Program coordinates with its theme dormitories and theme houses for Campuswide Honors events.

In addition to conducting hundreds of events every year, UCI Student Housing also retains many annual events that have become long-standing traditions. For instance, each housing complex offers a major dance every year. For Mesa Court and Middle Earth, these dances usually occur in the fall and are informal outings. In Arroyo Vista, the tradition is to host an annual semi-formal, with past events being hosted on a cruise ship and resort hotel. Another tradition is for Community Programmers to host a food delivery service during midterms and finals weeks. Residents may call the housing office to order food, which is then delivered to them for a fee. The income from this event is used to host large events throughout the year. Additional traditional events abound, with the list including a casino night, camping on the complex's open spaces, talent show, movie screenings, keynote professor lecture series, Halloween haunted house contest, and more.