By: Samantha Mansolf | Co-Social Media Coordinator
As the time for first-year students to choose a new dorm for the upcoming year continues to get closer, I thought I would share my experiences as a sophomore with some pros and cons to the dorm options. With this mini-guide, I am hoping that your housing selection is as smooth as possible, as I know that it is a very stressful time.
Narragansett Hall
I currently live in Narragansett Hall located on Narragansett Avenue, just across the street from Walgreen Hall. With a large common room, this dorm is usually lively and is the perfect place for someone looking to meet new people. It should definitely not be a top choice for those who like their quiet study time.
I love my dorm and would recommend it to anyone. The kitchen is spacious and the common room is always a great place to hang out when not in class. The cons to this building are that there are two washers and dryers for over forty residents, there are a lack of parking spaces, and there are some communal bathrooms shared between two to three rooms. However, some rooms do have their own bathroom. There is an extra fee to live in any of the historical homes, but I think it is worth it.
William Watts-Sherman House
The William Watts-Sherman House is personally my least favorite, as there is something eerie about the whole building. It used to be a nursing home, so many believe that the building is haunted. The male wing used to serve as a hospital in the early 1960s, and it definitely still looks the same. There is also a rumor that there was a little boy who passed away in the building when it served as a hospital, and that you can still hear the little boy bouncing a ball some nights. So, for several reasons, I am unsettled while in this building. However, if you are into paranormal activity or the old feel of buildings, this is the dorm is for you.
Founders Hall
Founders Hall is an all-female dorm for sophomores. It is a beautiful, yellow building with an assortment of room styles. There are a couple of rooms in the building that are circle shaped, so those are usually the first to be taken during room selection. However, I do think that all of the rooms that I have visited in this building are beautiful. Some rooms share a bathroom with each other while others do not, but if you do share a bathroom, it is not with a lot of people. This dorm also has a nice kitchen and common room. There are a lack of parking spaces, however.
Ochre Lodge
Ochre Lodge is the multicultural housing that is offered to sophomores upon request to the Multicultural Office. This building is also very pretty with a nice kitchen and living room space. The cons I have seen are the small room sizes and communal bathroom. There are a decent number of parking spots for this dorm, not too little but definitely not enough. It is also a short walk to the O’Hare Academic Building and McAuley Hall. So, if you have most of your classes in those buildings, it is in a convenient location.
Moore Hall
If you live in Hunt or Reefe Hall during your first year, you are most likely familiar with Moore Hall, as it is in the same parking lot. With a large kitchen and common room, this dorm is the perfect place to hang out with your friends. It is one of the smaller sophomore dorm options, so if you are looking for a lively dorm, this may not be the one for you. It is the closest sophomore dorm to the academic buildings and has a large parking lot that is shared with Reefe and Hunt Hall. However, since Reefe Hall and some of Hunt Hall are for first-year students, many of them do not have cars.
Wallace Hall
On Ruggles Avenue, Wallace Hall is one of the sophomore dorms that is further away from main campus. However, if you like to take “hot girl walks”, this may just be the dorm for you. This building is primarily honors housing, so if you are in the honors program, you will get first dibs on this building. However, if the rooms do not fill up with honors students, it then opens to non-honors students.
This building has some of the most unique rooms, as eight of them on the first floor have spiral staircases and lofts. There is one bed on the first floor of the room and two beds in the loft. Other rooms on the first and second floors are primarily doubles, and they each have their own bathroom. The building also has a small kitchen and common room perfect for doing homework with friends.
Young Building
Young Building is the furthest building away from main campus, but many students have still said that they absolutely loved living in this building. The trolley also stops right in front of this building every 30 minutes, so if you are not looking to walk, you will still have a way to get to class. The dorm has your average sized rooms, some sharing a bathroom and some with their own bathroom. It also has two common rooms and a kitchen, so there are plenty of spaces for students to gather. One of the benefits to the building is that if you have an event or class in Young Building, you won’t even have to step outside!
Overall, I think any sophomore dorm could be the perfect place to live with a little room decoration. No living space will feel like a home unless you make it look like a home. My roommate and I prioritize having lots of seating, a rug, and wall decor in order to make our room feel like home.
Photo Credit: Salve Regina University
