For thousands of current first-year students at MSU, one event in March will determine what floor and building they live on for their second year. The excitement this highly anticipated event creates for students is made possible by countless individuals and teams across the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services (RHS).
The annual Rock the Block event takes place March 10, 11 a.m.–7 p.m., at the Breslin Student Events Center. One of the biggest on-campus events of the calendar year for Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS), Rock the Block is an opportunity for current first-year students to select their on-campus housing for their second year with roommate groups of their choice submitted online prior to the event. This year, a new system for the most popular residence hall, Landon, gives interested roommate groups an equitable chance at a room, with selection notices distributed the night before the event.
Rock the Block serves as one of the most exciting and important events for students and divisional staff alike. It requires partnership across departments, from REHS’ Housing Assignments Office (HAO) and Communication team to partners throughout RHS.
“Success starts where students live,” says Assistant Vice President for REHS Ray Gasser. “Rock the Block gives students a chance to shape their on-campus experience, and it’s one of the ways we help students feel grounded and in control of their environment.”
Student Experience and Event Roadmap
According to Associate Director for Communications and Outreach in REHS Bethany Balks, the goal of the event is to make students feel simultaneously at ease and excited about living with their chosen party in their chosen location during their second year living on campus.
“We want students to feel like they’re supported, that they're excited and they feel more confident going into year two,” Balks says.
Students select their arrival times prior to the day of the event and are instructed to arrive no more than 30 minutes before their scheduled slot. When students enter the Breslin Center, their groups are given wristbands to aid staff in identifying them. They’re then presented with two stations and a system optimized to reduce wait times as much as possible.
At the first station, students view floor plans for available rooms, something they won’t be able to do online this year, making this station vital for housing selection. Display screens are updated live with information on which halls are available for students to view while waiting to select their rooms.
After selecting their rooms, students are directed to the second and last station. Housing specialist staff confirms each group’s information and officially assigns rooms in the online system. Upon exiting, fun treats and memorabilia are provided for students.
Associate Director for Business Operations in REHS Christopher Stone-Sewalish shares how Rock the Block is an amazing opportunity for the HAO to come face to face with students and inject campus with excitement about the coming year.
“We want students to feel the fun and excitement of being in a space like Breslin while also finding the experience convenient, simple and efficient,” Stone-Sewalish says. “We want residents to feel that we are looking forward to their return next fall and that we are here for them.”
Balks says the event is a linchpin in servicing the needs of students, while making it a concurrently enjoyable experience. “We want to make sure people feel excited about going into the next academic year and living with the people they want to live with.”
In this way, Rock the Block serves as a shining example of REHS’ mission to provide "exceptional and equitable community experiences, one connection at a time."
Collaborative Divisional Effort
Overall, the REHS team strongly believes in the benefit of providing this service while making it a memorable in-person experience for students. "While we love to make housing selection easy for our Spartans by using online tools like StarRez, which is optimized for digital and mobile platforms,” says Stone-Sewalish, "having an opportunity for an in person, face to face opportunity is energizing. We love being able to build a personal connection with our Spartans, and our staff work hard at that. Rock the Block gets us excited each year because we get to do it at scale with thousands of Spartans."
In doing so, the REHS team is joined by multiple partners to help support and build that excitement. Rock the Block requires an immense amount of coordination and cooperation between numerous partners across campus. To hold the event at the Breslin Center, REHS works with RHS’ Auxiliary Sports Group to land on a date for Rock the Block.
“It's been really great this year meeting with the Breslin Center team and early talking through what we think will be the best for the flow,” Balks says. “We've done some walkthroughs together, we're in frequent contact with each other and they’ve been a great partner to us.”
“What makes Rock the Block truly amazing is how we all come together to serve Spartans,” Stone-Sewalish says. “This is a one team effort. It's an incredible example of what we can do for Spartans.”
Culinary Services provides cookies from MSU Bakers for the event, and Digital Strategies and Services assist heavily in making sure the technical side of the event runs smoothly. Additional partners involved in Rock the Block include RHS Strategic Communication and Creative Services teams and a variety of REHS teams, including Residence Education, Operations, Campus Tour Guides and Live On Brand Ambassadors.
Balks says, although the event is hosted by REHS, it’s an entire divisional effort to make it happen.
“When housing selection started to go online for major universities, something personal, and fun was lost,” Stone-Sewalish says. “This is a chance to bring everyone together, have fun, get excited about next year and show what RHS can truly do.”
Landon Hall and Improvements
Using student feedback and event observation, Rock the Block has continuously evolved year after year. After previously being held at 1855 Place, it was moved to Breslin for the larger event space and strong internet capacity needed for the event.
“Every year, I think we’re getting a little better,” Balks says.
An improvement for this year is a change to how Landon Hall will be filled. Balks says it’s the most popular hall preference for rising sophomores every year, and this year it will be assigned randomly.
Students will have the chance to select a Landon Hall preference when registering for the event online. On March 9, Balks says, the system will randomly assign groups to Landon and inform students as to whether or not they were placed in the hall prior to attending Rock the Block.
Balks says there will be a separate line with a dedicated team at the event specifically for students placed in Landon Hall. The new system is meant to avoid long lines specifically for Landon and to have a fairer way of filling the most popular residence hall on campus.
“We hope this reduces the pressure a little bit,” Balks says. “There’s something to the fairness of it to have it randomized as to who gets Landon Hall.”
Transparency around the event is something REHS strives for. From during event updates on which halls are filling to fair and randomized assignments for the most popular hall, student comfortability and success are at the core of both REHS’ work and Rock the Block.
“We are trying to be as transparent as possible and to reduce anxieties as much as we can,” Balks says.
The HAO’s goal is to assign 2,000 students housing at Rock the Block this year.
“Rock the Block gives friends the opportunity to choose rooms on the same floor, strengthening community as they enter their second year,” Gasser shares. “It allows students to select a space that supports how they sleep, study and connect.”
Author: Zachary Phelps