One of the first pieces of culture seen at Watkins Hall is our mascot, the llama. The mascot was adopted when Watkins residents raised money for another resident from Peru to go home over a break. She brought back a stuffed llama which quickly became a staple of the hall. 

Watkins has an executive team that works to run the hall and provide information to residents. The exec team take point in organizing hall events like Heaven and Hell and Watsgiving. In addition to our events, all the other Scholarship Halls host things like glow parties, haunted houses, and ice cream socials. Most notably among these halls are our brother hall Battenfeld, our sister hall Miller, and our cousin hall Krehbiel. 

While the events are a large part of the culture, we also have smaller idiosyncrasies that make Watkins what it is. There is always a question of the week on the basement whiteboard and residents commonly gather in the living room to study, talk, and take late-night pizza runs. Watkins is full of impromptu gymnastics, karaoke nights, shared snacks, and a strong sisterhood that will last forever. 

Every hall in the scholarship halls at KU have their own list of potential shifts, and each resident is required to complete at least one shift a week to continue being a resident in the halls.  Further information on the shifts can be found through this link: Shift Descriptions.

1. Shift Basics: There is an alloted 3-hour period for a resident to complete their shift, and are required to sign-off on completed shifts using an online form. Failure to complete a shift or sign-off on it will result in a J-Board, with three J-Boards resulting in a meeting with housing staff and five J-boards being possible grounds to expelled from the scholarship halls. Shifts typically revolve around cleaning an area, and cleaning supplies can be found in either in the first floor closet under the stairs, the third floor closet near the bathroom, or in the laundry room in the basement.

2. Shift Types: There are both partial and full shifts. A full shift, such as cleaning a bathroom or one of the kitchens, typically takes 1–2 hours and only has to be completed once a week. Partial shifts typically take 30 minutes to 1 hour, and you have to complete it twice a week. Partial shifts typically include cleaning a hallway or the sleeping porches.

3. Shift Assignment: Right before moving in, the hall proctor will send out a form for residents to fill out that will ask for things like your general availability and your shift preference. Then the proctor will asign each person a shift to do, and the first few weeks of school will serve as a trial period to see if the assigned shift works for the individual. A similar process is done for the spring semester, as it is expected for residents availabilty to change with their new class schedules.

While some halls may have a singular industrial sized kitchen, Watkins has seven smaller kitchens, with 5–7 residents being assigned to each kitchen. One of these kitchens is always designated as the allergy kitchen, for residents with food allergies or strict dietary restrictions.

1. Kitchen Types: Traditional, Semi-Independent, and Independent are three kitchen styles at Watkins, with the amount of independence the residents get increasing with each type. Traditional style kitchens require each member of the kitchen to make about two meals for all other members in the kitchen twice a month, Semi-Independent involves cooking a full-kitchen meal once a month, and in an independent style kitchen, none of the members have to cook for each other. All new residents to the hall will start out in a Traditional style kitchen for their first semester in the hall unless they have approved extenuating circumstances. Not cooking a meal when expected of you can result in a J-board.

2. Kitchen Agreements: All members of a kitchen will meet with the food-board manager of the hall at the beginning of a semester to discuss what rules they want to be enforced in their kitchen. This could include things like if a store bought pizza can count as their kitchen-meal, how dishes should be cleaned, if there should be communal food items, or if dishes can be left in the sink. Once agreed upon by all members of the kitchen, breaking these rules could result in a J-board.

Food 

While you can always cook for yourself, there is also plenty of dining options on or around campus as well! 

• On-campus dining options: The Burge Union, The Kansas Union, The Underground, DeBruce Center

• Popular restaurants: Silas and Maddies (Ice-cream), Pizza Shuttle, The Roost (Brunch), Wheatfields (Bakery), Mad Greek, India Palace, Ramen Bowls, Ladybird (Diner)

• Popular grocery stores: Checkers, Dillons, Walmart

Transportation 

• Both KU and Lawrence have a wonderful bus system that is free for anyone to use and is generally punctual. Bus routes 42 and 43 are for the buses that exclusively run through campus, though many of the other bus routes also make stops on campus. Their typical operating times are Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m For more information, check here.

• KU Saferide is a free bus service dedicated towards picking up students late at night. For more information, check here.

• There is an On-Demand Lawrence bus system, where you can book a ride for $3 a trip at anytime. For more information, look here.

• Google maps and the Transit App tend to be the most helpful apps for transportation, though PassioGo! can be helpful with determining bus routes.

• While Kansas is known for being extremely flat, KU and Lawrence itself is very hilly. This can make biking or walking places more challenging.

General 

• There are a few events that freshmen are required to attend before school starts. They are Jayhawks Give a Flock and Traditions Night, where you learn about sexual assault prevention and about KU specific cheers. UnionFest, while not required, is another highly recommended event where all KU clubs and organizations table, making it a great opportunity to learn about KU, have fun, and collect free merchandise.

• KU has a foghorn called the Big Tooter that goes off near hourly behind Watson Library. It is very loud, and serves to be very shocking when you hear it for the first time.

• For information on KU clubs or events, check Rock Chalk Central at KU Engage. The Corq app is also helpful with finding out what events are happening on campus.

• In front of Wescoe hall, in a place often referred to as Wescoe Beach, organizations tend to table there on a day-to-day basis. There are often book sales, baked goods, and free merchandise there.

• KU Libraries

• KU Student Support Resources

• To find out more about Lawrence, look at this website!