Tercero Area
Five residence halls totaling fifteen buildings make up Tercero, the most centrally located housing area. Located in the southwest corner of campus and surrounded by groomed lawns and trees, Tercero is home to approximately 1,400 students. A common building located in the center of the Tercero community houses the dining commons, a game room, the Area Service Desk, the Academic Advising Center, the Computer Center, all Tercero resident mailboxes, multiple lounges and study rooms, and a large lounge which can be used for group activities, including large functions and community movie nights.
Tercero’s Residence Halls
Tercero’s residence halls are grouped into three areas: a twelve-building community to the north, a cluster of small buildings to the southeast, and a large two-building cluster known unofficially as Tercero South.
Pierce Hall and Thille Hall
Pierce Hall and Thille Hall are each comprised of six buildings; each building is home to approximately 70 students for a total community of roughly 800 residents. The first floor of each building has a community lounge with cable television, a study lounge, a kitchenette, and a laundry room. All buildings have exterior balconies at each end of the second and third floor hallways, and have a deck or patio outside of each community lounge. Both coed and single-sex floors are available. Community bathrooms are located on each floor; women’s and men’s floors alternate between floors. All twelve buildings are surrounded by large expanses of lawn, where residents relax, study, and take part in recreational activities.
Most bedrooms are double-occupancy; there are a few single-occupancy rooms and a few quad-configuration double-occupancy rooms. All rooms are carpeted; all rooms feature climate control.
All twelve buildings are locked at all times. Access to each building is controlled by electronic locks; residents unlock exterior doors using their authorized registration/ID cards. Residents access their rooms using a traditional key.
Lysle Leach Hall
Lysle Leach Hall houses about 175 students throughout seven relatively small two-story buildings arranged around a central outdoor corridor of grass and walkways. Leach Hall possesses a more rural atmosphere than its counterparts largely due to its smaller buildings and wooden outdoor walkways combined with its simple landscaping. A community lounge with cable television, a study lounge, a kitchenette, and two laundry rooms are located off main exterior pathways. Mailboxes are located at Tercero’s Area Service Desk, downstairs from the Tercero dining commons.
Leach Hall is comprised solely of single-occupancy rooms. All rooms are clustered in groups of four or five rooms, with each cluster sharing a common bathroom. All rooms feature climate control.
Leach Hall does not have an exterior locking mechanism for its buildings; clusters are located off exterior pathways, and rooms are accessed by entering a cluster. All rooms utilize traditional keyed locks.
Kearney Hall and Laben Hall
Kearney Hall and Laben Hall, unofficially known as Tercero South and which together house approximately 400 students, are arranged about a central plaza. Each building has a lounge with cable television, a study lounge, a kitchenette, and a laundry room on the first floor; there are additional lounges on each floor. Building hallways are well-lit, taking advantage of natural lighting by utilizing well-placed windows.
Carpeted rooms are arranged in clusters of four rooms and a shared bathroom. Clusters open into wide sections of hallway, creating a sort of common area porch, both helping accent the cluster and promoting social interaction. Rooms are either double- or triple-occupancy; all rooms feature climate control.
Both buildings are locked at all times. Access to each building is controlled by electronic locks; residents unlock exterior doors using their authorized registration/ID cards. Residents also access their rooms using their registration/ID cards; traditional keyed locks are not used.
Dining in Tercero
The Tercero dining commons (DC) building, which is available to all residence hall residents, is centrally located within the Tercero area. In addition to the DC, residents may purchase drinks, snacks and more, and relax on the outdoor patio at Trudy’s, a shop just outside of the dining commons building. For more information about dining in any of the areas, refer to the Dining section of the website.
Advantages of the Tercero Area
Cannot decide which housing area is best? Remember that all housing areas are equitable and are complete with everything a resident needs for growth and success, but review the following list to see which features help differentiate Tercero from the other housing areas.
- Close to engineering, chemistry, physics, biology and avian science facilities
- Short walk to several campus computer labs
- Close proximity to central campus, including the Shields Library
- Adjacent to the Arboretum’s many trails, plants, birds and waterways
- The Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) and the Recreation pool are a short bike ride away
- The Silo and its dining options, including the Silo Pub, are two blocks away