THE DORM
SITUATION
Joyce A. Barton
Every year at various
times, in-coming college fresh
men are faced with the deci
sion of whether or not to
board at the college of their
choice. Many factors are tak
-en into consideration in mak
ing this decision, such as re-.
lationships with parents, fi
nancial standing, and the dis
tance between home and school.
But whatever the reason, once
the decision is made to live
in a dorm the student must
learn to adapt to his new sur
roundings, for he can never
return to his former lifestyle
again•
As soon as he moves in,
the student realizes that the
differences between dorm life
and the comforts of home are
some-what striking. Gone is
the spacious room with shag
carpeting and a double bed..
Nov replacing it is a long
strip of a room with cold fea
tures, each feature identical
to all of those on the floor
and in the dorm, The venturer
may decorate his room to break
this monotony, but restrictions
such as no tape on the wall,
no candles, hot pots, or fish
put a clamp on his creativity.
And so, the painted cinder
block walls and cold linoleum
floors, found throughout the
,
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dorm, continue to remind the
resident that he is still in
school.
Another notable contrast
in lifestyle for the student
who has taken advantage of his
leisurely life at home is re
sponsibility, which seems sud
denly thrust upon him. No lon
ger can he rely on another mem
ber of his family to wake him
up at a certain hour. His
sleep is now interrupted by
the annoying jangle of an
alarm clock. Two nights a
week he spends his time in the
laundry room; before, clothes
seemed to magically launder
themselves. Fluffy collections
of hair and dust float about
the room and will continue to
do so until he realizes that
along with his other unplea
sant tasks, he must also main
tain the general tidiness of
his room.
After he lives in a dorm
for some time and over-comes
these basic differences, the
student now faces various
conflicts within himself.
After weeks of doing nothing
but homework, housework, and
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I IV'
Highaoree Collegian, December 16, 1974 - Page Five
existing, he begins to wonder
if studying is getting him
anywhere. He is swayed by
the majority of his fellow
classmates and residents, who
feel that social life is as
important as studying.- even
more so. As he begins to
socialize, his grades rapidly
decline; assignments are
handed in late, and he can
put off his work than he ac
tually spends doing it. If
he is a gambler, all of this
seems quite exciting; if he is
not, paranoia sets in and his
social fling is once more re
placed by some serious study.
Other conflicts that
arise in a dorm student's life
are the absence of privacy and
the ignorance of current is
sues facing the outside world.
In a dorm situation, it is
virtually impossible to be a
lone. Therefore, when the
student becomes so wrapped up
in his school life that he has
no time for any of the medias,
he becomes ignorant of the,
affairs of the world in which
he lives, This could be con,-
sidered one of the most seri
continued next page
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with a Continental heritage
Light bursting
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eight diamonds clustered
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As unique as it is beautiful.
Just in time for happiness.
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14 E.BROAD ST.
HAZLETON PA.