Housing Accommodations & Needs
Choosing where to live is an important decision. Residential Life staff are committed to assisting students in finding the best housing option for you.
Smudging Policy
Smudging involves the burning of sage, sweetgrass, tobacco, cedar, and/or other sacred herbs in spiritual, religious, prayer, or faith practices. The University of Minnesota Morris recognizes the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 and the rights of Native Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians to exercise their traditional religions and sacred ceremonies under the law. The Office of Residential & Community Life is supportive of honoring and respecting these traditions and ceremonies involving smudging in Residential Life buildings.
Residents should do the following when smudging:
- Prior to smudging for the first time in your room, on-campus apartment, suite, or meditation room, we encourage residents to identify the location of the nearest fire pull station and fire extinguisher in the building.
- Residents may want to consider notifying roommates when smudging. Residents are not required to notify Residential Life staff, but can consider alerting their Community Advisor if they do not wish to be interrupted when smudging.
- Students are expected to follow traditional cultural practices for smudging which includes providing a safe environment to contain the embers and ashes in abalone shells, ceramic bowls, or similar items.
- After smudging, please extinguish any embers to eliminate the risk of fire.
- In the case of an emergency, please contact Public Safety at 320-589-6000 and/or 911.
- For additional information, please contact the Office of Residential & Community Life at [email protected].
Requesting housing accommodations
The University of Minnesota Morris is committed to providing equal access in residential living spaces for students with a disability-related need. Common housing accommodations include: single room, rooms equipped with audio/visual cues, support animal requests, etc. Residents seeking accommodation(s) will participate in an interactive process that requires the student to work with the Disability Resource Center (320-589-6178) on campus. Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis as deemed reasonable and necessary to address disability-related barriers.