Thrend freshmen, many have about classes, locations, and s into a Dobbin's sloppy joe. )u want to live is just another tedious decision to make. ssment of the benefits and ated with both on-campus and ng'oan help make the decision much easier. ampus ';~ ping vs. ampus wing 6 . y Beacon W st-ciwriters rad, Caren iemia, with, Emily Brocks, Erinn Hansen leaf Plang• nustalso take into consideration the :hool. Students who reside in an on lated by the university to buy a meal npus are not obligated to invest in a nay , :do so if they desire. 2 Meal. Plan Rates ost Base Cost +sBBo +sBBo +sBBo +sBBo +sBBo +sBBo licia McG rail Total Cost =51,210 =51,260 =51,310 41,375 41,425 41,555 Tips for of Living Roommate issues. Compromise, be reasonable, and be considerate with each other. Work out problems as they arise instead of letting them aggravate you; they will only get worse, and will result in irrational arguments. Attack issues as they come, and chances are, arguments will be avoided. Take a break from each other; don't spend all your time with each other, or else the little things will start to drive you crazy! Be sure to know other people in the hall where you can escape to get away. Get to know and trust your RA. Be respectful with his or her requests, and don't view them as authority figures. When doing your laundry, pick a time when you know the washing machine and dryer will be available to avoid laundry back ups. Weekdays or weekend nights, if you are home, are usually good times. Only do laundry if you have full loads; you might as well get your money's worth! Decorate the room with familiar things, like pictures of your family, and posters and things from home. Make the room as enjoyable to live in as possible, cover the walls with attractive posters or wall hangings, and be sure to have a rug on the floor, if there is not one already. Maximize space in the room. Bunk or loft the beds, or simply raise them. Crates and bins make more space, and also help organize. Use every bit of space available, but be sure to share the space. There are a number of benefits and problems with living in the residence halls. First and foremost (and this applies to more than just the halls), one must partly give up the mindset of having one's own space, time, and belongings. If you don't like people you'll have to learn. You've got to share and compromise, which is sometimes easy and sometimes not. Usually when one begins this change, it starts at one of the traditional residence halls, Niagara, Lawrence, or Perry. In these, two people live in one room, each with his or her own dresser, desk, bed, and closet. They share a refrigerator and a microwave. Available to all residents are Internet connections and free cable with HBO (that is certainly uncommon to a college). The entire floor shares a bathroom, which has many sinks, toilets, and showers for use. Unfortunately, this communal bath is a breeding ground for bacteria, which can spread in such a setting. When people live together in a house or apartment, many responsibilities come with independence. Maintenance is often the job of the residents, which includes cleaning the bathroom. Flat mates may spend any amount of time trying to decide who is responsible for the unwanted task, but there is no such thing in a dorm; the bathroom facilities are cleaned daily, and do they ever need it, because some people feel totally free to leave the showers or toilets behind in awful states after using them. Other home responsibilities, like fixing things and replacing light bulbs are also the concern of housing. Taking the trash out, though, is not the concern of housing. Yet many residents have shown themselves to be unable to do even this, as is apparent from the ill-deposited trash bags one might see on the curb of Perry Hall. At all the halls, there is a charge of $2O or so, which is the divided amongst everyone in the hall (unless the culprit is known). Those fees do add up. Another thing to enjoy about life at a residence hall is the curfew, or lack of. This is actually a benefit that Behrend students may take for granted because not all colleges allow this. Not only is there no limit to what time you can come back to the dorm, but there are also no restrictions on who comes back with you. People of the opposite sex may be in your dorm as long as he or she has an escort. You can have sleepover guests for a maximum of two nights, too. Despite the freedoms, the residence halls are still, for the most part, safe places to be. The doors are locked at night, and there are a lot of people concentrated in one area. The safety of the dorms does have a least one downside, of course. There are rules to follow; not just the obvious ones, like no alcohol or firearms, but also some that apply to things that would otherwise be normal. "Fire Hazard" is used to explain a number of odd prohibited items, such as toasters, scented candles, and chairs. That is right, you cannot bring chairs, tables, or any other extra furniture items, even if they fold up. The halls vary in quality and cost (that is, cost plus the required meal plan selection). Just beyond the $1,340 Traditional residence hall (a realm that freshmen are very unlikely to visit) are Tigress Hall, Tiffany Hall, and Porcupine Hall, which cost about $1,580. In these, eight people share a suite that has two baths, and the appropriate furniture. Each building has two floors and each floor has four of these suites. With all rooms come the extra facilities that the traditionals have except that a conference room is included also. Up the ladder and up the hill are the Almy and Ohio halls, which run about $1,705. Almy is for the most part reserved for honors students. The doors are locked all the time, and you must be a resident even to get inside the building. There are ample study rooms and a computer worksta tion. Here, four residents live in rooms with two bedrooms, one bath, and a study room. Scholars-in-residence live here also. Ohio Hall is similar to Almy in how the rooms are arranged, but it has less study rooms, no computer workstation, and besides the usual facilities, residents here also have conference rooms, and an exercise room. Making the Best in a Dorm In general, residence hall life is living with a great lack of personal space, but the space one does get is more that fairly comfortable. by Emily Brocks staff writer PHOTOS BY KAREN NIEMLA Residence Life • by Karen Niemla •On-Campus Housing Rates• Housing rates for the 2001-2002 school year (all rates are per semester and include all utilities.) •Lawrence, Niagara, and Perry Residence Ha115...51,340 •Ohio, Almy, Porcupine, Tigress, and Tiffany Suites ...$ 1,580 •Apartments...sl ,i Photos depict dorm life. It may be a little cramped, but there may be refuge in the wide open lobby to watch TV on the big screen
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