New dorms may inhibit social life: Students, resident advisers claim old dorms created more community
April 24, 2015
By Victoria Groebner
No one would say that the new dorms around campus are not clean, modern, and pleasing to live in, but some students and resident advisers said they need more than a shiny new building and a Tempur-Pedic mattress to call home.
Current residents of the new halls, including two resident advisers who previously lived in Blanding Tower and Blanding IV, said that while they enjoy living in the newly-built dorms this year because of the cleanliness and resources available, they miss living in the older buildings because of the social interaction and overall environment with other residents.
Speech pathology senior Megan Brown lived in Blanding Tower for three years and has now been living in Woodland Glen 1 as an RA.
“In regard to cleanliness, I would prefer Woodland Glen 1, but for overall atmosphere and community, I prefer Blanding Tower a hundred times,” Brown said.
Students complained about the lack of social interaction in the new dorms. Residents have private bathrooms in the new dorms. The older dorms have public, shared bathrooms where students had to leave their room. These are normally considered amenities in living areas, but students described them as disadvantages.
“There was a stronger sense of community in Blanding III because people saw each other more either while they were getting ready or hanging out in the other rooms and lobbies,” public health sophomore Cody Russell said. Russell suggested that students planning to live in the newer dorms should stick to suites with four people in them, instead of two.
Some of the differences between the new and older buildings are separate rooms and private bathrooms. The old dorms are worn down and not spacious, where the new dorms allow for privacy and cleanliness. Social interaction between students is one of the biggest differences students have reported missing in the newer dorms.
Haggin Hall resident adviser Sid Yadav, a chemistry sophomore, said the changes to the building’s setup have required him to put more effort into getting to know other residents.
“It made me have to pay more attention to how much time I was spending in my room and ensure I was getting out more,” Yadav said. “I feel like there were many missed opportunities that I had by not taking full advantage of my building’s resources.”
