RPS: Cool rooms mean big prizes

MORE INFO- www.rps.indiana.edu/coolroom.cfml

Residence hall residents with an eye for design once again have the chance to have the coolest room on campus.

Lauren Schaefer, marketing assistant for Residential Programs and Services, said the contest has been going on for a few years, but in the past three it has been revamped.
It has become more streamlined with the application and information going online, she said.

Schaefer said there are many reasons why RPS has the contest. She said RPS likes to feel connected to the residents, and this contest helps do that.

Roommates will also bond faster and better if they work
together to decorate their room for a competition, she said.

“The big thing is, we want to make living in the residence halls fun,” Schaefer said.

Sophomore Abbey Shaffer, last year’s grand prize winner, said being part of the cool room contest was a great experience. She said she had already decorated her room with Marilyn Monroe pieces and in black and pink but didn’t enter the contest until her friends told her to.

She said she thought she would get second place at most but was surprised to find out she won the grand prize.

“I would definitely recommend anybody to participate,” Shaffer said. “It was a great experience, and you never know; you might win.”

Schaefer said there is no downside to the contest. Everyone who participates will at least get a free T-shirt.

Applications for the Cool Room Contest can be found on the RPS Web site and are due by Oct. 19.

Schaefer said RPS is looking for any room with originality and creativity. For those participating, judging will take place between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3.

Schaefer said each neighborhood will have two days for judging and if any student is not available during those times to e-mail her at leschaef@indiana.edu, listing three
days they would be available.

Residents participating will be required to meet their judge at the center desk of their residence hall, she said.

Students who miss their appointment will not be able to reschedule and must withdraw from the contest.

Schaefer said after the judging is over, the top five rooms will be filmed and posted online. Students can then go online and vote for their favorite room, she said.

Following the online voting, winners will be announced in the RPS e-newsletter, “In Touch.”

“I would encourage anyone who is the least bit interested to register,” Schaefer said. “It’s a great opportunity.”