JMU students might each have their own arguments for why their dorms are superior, but I’m here to say all of those people are just plain wrong. People can try to put us down because of our long walks and secluded area but for true Skyline residents, those insults just fly over our heads. I mean to start off there are just two important words that are needed, air conditioning. Air conditioning, air conditioning, air…well, you get the point.
1. The View
Don’t confuse this with the Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg talk show, the view from Skyline has no fair comparison anywhere else on campus. Before coming to JMU, students here would tell me my phone’s storage would be filled with sunset photos and this has sadly become ever so true. But, an extra advantage to Skyline is being able to relax with some hot cocoa in the lounge as you watch the sun rise and fall; the whole hallway filling up with a vibrant orange. We see that sunrise every morning and the sunset every evening. The mountains look like a screensaver and they did even before they became my actual screensaver on my computer.
2. A Dining Hall Gifted by the Gods
I would apologize for the extreme dramatization of that title, but I still fully support it as the only fair description of the glorious place called E-Hall. I’ve traveled to other schools, eaten at every other JMU dining location and attempted to find a place better than E-Hall but I have been happily disappointed in each case. The brunches get me out of bed on the weekends, the desserts make Mondays bearable and the paninis are so worth stealing (but of course no one would do that). Not to mention, E-Hall’s staff is just the nicest set of people I’ve ever come across.
3. Dorm Perks
I’m sorry to those who just got unlucky with their draw of dorms because Skyline dorms are just so nice. The ceilings are a mile high, the bedrooms are giant and the lounges are pristine. You can really tell just how lucky you are when the air conditioning is flowing and your closets are almost big enough to live in. I didn’t know how good I was going to get it in college until I showed up to a room twice the size of the one my sister had in school.
4. Forced Exercise
We might complain about the long distance and my roommate and I swear we have shin splints in result, but the long walks are a godsend when studying takes away most of the time we have for working out. With an average of 16,000 steps tallied on my Fitbit at the end of each day, I can feel at least slightly healthy when I stay in all afternoon writing an essay or watching Stranger Things while I finish off that last piece of pie I have (not stolen of course) from E-Hall.
5. Location
I’m not a science or math major of any sorts. Almost the entirety of my classes are on the Quad and it’s very apparent that if I didn’t live in Skyline I probably would never cross the highway. Living on the East side has let me explore some of the best study spots in ECL, found delicious crepes at Festival and given me two minute walks to Walmart. I honestly would probably never have found these if I was living near the Quad. Plus, the walk to URec and the Arboretum are just too close to find an excuse not to go.