Love it or hate it, dorm life is an essential part of the first-year student experience at the University. As a newly-christened second-year student, I find myself reflecting on the ups and downs of dorm living, from forging friendships in my Gooch suite to visiting icky bathroom stalls in Bonnycastle. Here are some reasons why I am both sad and relieved to now be finished with my time in the dorms.
- Love — Daily sleepovers foster friendships
Dorm living is a middle schooler’s dream come true, sleeping a few feet away from friends every night. This close proximity is so fun and allows you to form fast, intimate connections with your roommates, hallmates and suitemates. My roommate and I spent many nights talking from our lofted beds, gabbing about anything from homework assignments to cute boys. The suites, with their built-in common space, make it even easier to prattle, gossip and unwind with the people you’re living with. I got so close with my suitemates that we even took our chats out of the suite on a spring break trip together.
2. Hate — The trek to central Grounds
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder — but not when a 25-minute walk, complete with hills and stairs, stands between your dorm and your first class. All of the first-year dorms, except perhaps Old Dorms, are located far from academic buildings and dining options on central Grounds. There’s an even longer walk to places that students actually want to go to — namely, restaurants on the Corner and frat parties on Rugby Road. The only silver lining to all the walking is that the thousands of steps keep the Freshman 15 at bay.
3. Love — Football, food and fitness
Though many corners of Grounds are far from first-year dorms, there’s plenty to entertain close by. Most first-year dorms wrap around the west side of Scott Stadium, the home of Virginia football, which means gameday excitement is palpable from the window. Nearby Runk and O’Hill dining halls make pancakes and pepperoni pizza a short walk away. And all the gym rats can enjoy effortless 6 a.m. visits to the Aquatic and Fitness Center — that is, until they sit down to bench 100 pounds.
4. Hate — The luck of the dorm draw
Let’s be honest — some first-year dorms are newer, nicer and more aesthetic than others. Students not-so-endearingly call the Alderman Road suites the “motels.” Meanwhile, a few steps away are the newer Alderman Road hall-style dorms with their clean brick facades and 21st-century interior design. Your dorm assignment rests in the hands of Housing and Residence Life, and you can only pray that you end up in the building you desire. That being said, it’s true that the people, not the place, make or break the dorm experience — as long as you don’t get too downcast coming home to a dorm that resembles highway lodging.
5. Love — RAs enhance the first-year student experience
Each dorm has several resident advisors who support the well-being of first-year students. I absolutely adored my RA, Christine. She organized social activities — including a handy self-defense class — and gave her residents personalized attention, like when she mended my shirt during rush. She also always made herself available to chat. I can’t tell you how many times my suitemates and I ran up to Christine’s room to catch her up on our lives or rant about a problem. To this day, I’m not sure how she got anything done with us constantly knocking on her door.
6. Hate — The messy bathroom
When you put a bunch of college kids in a communal bathroom, nothing stays clean. I have heard horror stories of such nasty things found in toilets and showers that I can’t stomach repeating them. More commonly though, you’ll find hair stuck to steamed walls, gobs of toothpaste left in the sink and toilet paper strewn across the floor. Luckily, the University cleans the bathrooms a few times per week — but even then, there are some spots, stains and smears that, frighteningly, never go away.
7. Love — Accessible outdoor spaces
From the quad at Old Dorms to O’Hill Field, the first-year dorms are surrounded by plenty of green space. In the hotter months, girls lie in their bikinis to tan, and guys take off their shirts to play spikeball. In the cooler months, you’ll find students in sweats chatting with friends on picnic blankets. There’s even some action in the winter, when students gather outside to build snowmen. Simply walking by these outdoor havens can bring you a sense of peace — a phenomenon that doesn’t quite occur around an off-Grounds apartment complex.
8. Hate — Laundry is a combat sport
Doing laundry in the dorms requires some intense physicality. To start, you have to lug your laundry bag down several flights of stairs. Then, you have to pounce on an available machine — otherwise, you’ll be left standing with dirty laundry in hand, agonizing over the movements of whoever got to it before you. Once you’ve secured a washer and been exploited by Speed Queen, you must keep a vigilant eye on the progress of your load. People waste no time dropping your clean clothes onto the floor so they can put in their dirty ones.
9. Love — Lounges and study rooms
Between the snacks in my MicroFridge to the presence of my roommate, I easily became distracted in my first-year dorm room. When I needed to focus, I could rely on lounges and study rooms for a guaranteed lock-in. I was able to stay in those rooms for hours with their outlets, nearby water fountains and comfortable furniture. The best part? Once I was done with my work, I was only a few steps away from the comfort of my bed. There was no need to walk 30 minutes home from Shannon Library.
10. Hate — Frantic fire alarms
Though this wasn’t an everyday issue, the fire marshals sure loved to make sure we knew how to respond to a fire alarm. It’s an important safety measure, of course, but I think we all have enough common sense to know to move outside when we hear the sound. We had to evacuate our building several times last year to the terrible, deafening shriek. My worst fear was the thought of hearing that piercing noise in the middle of a shower — there’s no way I was going to stand outside of Gooch in my bathrobe.
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