Home sweet dorm

Dorm rooms today are much better than they’ve been in the past – and they include apartments, kitchens, suites and more options!

Forty girls, two bathrooms, messy roommates, disgusting cafeteria food and old, out-of-style décor. That’s the typical notion many people have of dorm life.

But this less-than-desirable image doesn’t necessarily hold true today. College dorms across the nation have been updated to become stylish, comfortable places.

Life in the dorms
Katherine Robertson attends Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. She lived in Mears Hall, which has bedrooms and bathrooms that each accommodate several residents.

“It was nice being so close to everything on campus and having someone else cook all the food,” Robertson says.

The University of West Florida is home to Pace Hall, where Stephanie Ash lives. Her reasons for staying in the dorm?

“I like being able to walk to wherever I need to go on campus and not worry about commuting,” she says.

Ash doesn’t mind the cafeteria food, either—there’s a quesadilla bar, deli, pizza line and soup/salad bar. Ash’s dorm is co-ed (the building, not the rooms), and two people share each room and bathroom.

The Danieley Center at Elon University in North Carolina offers five-room suites that house two students per room, and has two and a half bathrooms and a kitchen. If that isn’t enough luxury, the apartments boast “real” walls as opposed to the cinderblock that’s common in on-campus housing. The accompanying cafeteria is also upscale with a grill, sandwich bar and convenience store.

Another apartment-style dorm can be found at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Heritage Hall has three-room apartments that each house six girls with a shared kitchen, bathroom and living room. The cafeteria across the street serves ice cream every Sunday afternoon.

My dorm experience
Even if your dorm appears to subscribe to every stereotype,
have no fear. The first time I walked into the building that would become my home for the next eight months, I groaned.

“What have I gotten myself into?!” I cried. Deseret Towers is old. It was built in the 1960s and retains many fixtures from that era. The color scheme is brown and tan, and the elevators were questionable. Forty girls on each floor shared only two bathrooms.

But before I could start to feel too depressed, something amazing occurred: The 40 other girls moved in. Gone was the gloom and despair. In their place came music, life and fun. The walls got covered with pictures, decorations, lights and posters, and the elevators proved to be safe.

Then my roommate moved in. She was considerate, clean and best of all, willing to share her laptop with computerless me.

Living with a stranger quickly became living with a friend. Each bathroom was equipped with three stalls, four sinks and two showers—which at first seemed like a pathetic amount for such a large group of girls. But after the first few days, there was rarely a line
for anything.

As everyone fell into her individual routine, the only time lines formed was when everyone was going to a dance or a party at the same time. Even then, the bathrooms simply became a big party. Laptops blaring music graced the countertops as girls chatted, and makeup, blow dryers, straighteners and hairspray were everywhere.

And though nothing can compare to home-cooked meals, the dining hall tried its hardest with a hot-meal line, ice cream machines, a cereal line, a salad/sandwich/fruit/leftovers buffet, a waffle bar and, on select days, a wrap bar and burgers.

Another perk of living in the dorm is the constant flow of commodities. My wardrobe, movie supply and music collection was augmented by 40. If I didn’t have the perfect shoes to match my outfit, someone else was bound to. If I wanted to watch “Finding Neverland,” I just made the rounds until I found a copy.

I grew to love dorm life. The unknown roommate became a dear friend. The cafeteria food was always bearable and often delicious. The proximity to campus was wonderful, and the bathrooms lost their terror. And if nothing else, dorm life helped me appreciate the wonders of home.

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Home sweet dorm

Dorm rooms today are much better than they’ve been in the past – and they include apartments, kitchens, suites and more options!

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