Ah, dorms. One of the unplumbed glories of college life, full of mystery, wonder, and slightly smelly hall mates. Oh wait. It’s not unplumbed. It’s totally plumbed, it’s all we can talk about, because dorm life is an amalgam of both fun and affliction. We here at HCSMU have been through the ringer of dorm life, and we’re here to discuss the best and the worst, the nitty-gritty and the shiny clean. Here are ten things you forgot about your love/hate relationship with dorm living.
Hate
1. Shower Suffering
Showers in the dorms are terrible. Whether you live in a residential commons that’s fancy and new like Kathy Crow, or something slightly ancient, like Morrison McGinnis, trying to bathe while surrounded by people sucks. There’s almost always a clump of hair in the drain. The water temperature alternates between scalding your skin off and freezing you to the bone. The worst is the trek back to your room from the community bathroom, when you realize exactly how embarrassing your floral bathrobe is, and how shower shoes squeak loud enough to wake the dead. It’s not pleasant.
2. Burning (Man) Microwaves
I don’t know why people in a dorm setting are completely incapable of working a basic microwave, but it’s like a spawning ground for people who continually burn their Hot Pockets. If I had a dollar for every time the stench of smoldering popcorn permeated the entire floor, I would have enough to pay off my student loans. If you smell burning, JUST TAKE IT OUT.
3. Drama Mama
Roommate fights, suitemates whining, the yelling of the people from 424. Dorms somehow attract a lot of drama. A hundred people all with their own individual moans and rants all packed into four floors will tend to do that. Someone will always be mad at the neighbor who plays rap until 4 a.m. or the girl who leaves her dishes out in the common sink. There’s always going to be a lot of fodder for complaints.
4. Frantic Fire Drills
It’s SMU law, if you have an early class or a billion essays to do, there is probably going to be an early morning fire drill. Don’t ask me why. But I do know, the moment the alarm blares and everyone shuffles outside in their pajamas at 6 a.m. is also a moment I want to die.
5. Food Folly
The required meal plan is full of problems, so listen up, freshmen. Random hours that are apparently completely unsuitable for dining, like 2 p.m. or 10 a.m., will mean there’s nothing to eat. The omelet line will always be so long that you almost miss your 8 a.m., and the pasta line is not much better. And unfortunately there’s nothing you can do about it, because you’re required to have the meal plan just to live in the dorms.
Love
1. Social Social
With a noisy dorm comes a lot of opportunities for partying. If all the girls on your floor are going out, you’re guaranteed to know someone at whatever frat party you find. There is nothing like a big group of people banding together to study in the common room or to talk outside of the showers. It’s the only time in your life when most of your friends will be within a few doors of you.
2. More Resources
Remember the social thing? A whole bunch of people living in one place also provides another benefit, in that whatever you need, someone on your hall probably has it. Somebody will almost certainly have the laundry detergent you need to borrow, and there’s bound to be at least one person who can help you with that one professor you’re hating.
3. A Billion Events
Your RAs work extremely hard to provide cool events for your commons, and they are the funnest. MoMac has “MoMac and Cheese,” Ware has “Krewe de Ware” and do not forget about Crum’s “The Great Crumpkin.” There will always be a ton of fun things to do. It makes the place you’re living feel like home, and like you are all drawn together over a common activity. Whether it’s brick painting or your RCD bringing their dog into the lobby, there is almost always something fun going on in the dorms.
4. Shopping for Romance
It’s actually a social psychology phenomenon, and it’s been tested. That’s right ladies, the main principal of attraction is proximity. You are more likely to fall in love with someone who lives close to you, and you are even more likely to get together with someone a few doors down. Running into a cutie right after your evening class might not be a bad thing. My boyfriend lived three rooms away from me; I can tell you, it works.
5. Dorm Pride
A few years ago, SMU changed to a residential commons system, where each hall competes to be the best with academics, events, and commons activities, just like the Hogwarts houses in Harry Potter. It means a lot of people are really excited about where they live and they’re passionate about making the whole group the best it can be. Everyone wants to push for success and for fun, and that is pretty darn cool.
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