oberlin: hey in an incoming freshman and i was ju

Lydia (

congirli) wrote in

oberlin,
@ 2003-06-05 02:31:00

Current music:	utah phillips
Entry tags:	dorms, for incoming first-years

hey in an incoming freshman and i was just wondering from oberlin current students and/or graduates liek a brief discription on the differnet dorms. I know i'll get some info on all of them but i thnk its a lot more interesting nad informative from the actual people living in them, thanks!

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pontiuspilates
2003-06-05 06:12 am UTC (link)

I like living in a co-op better than living in a dorm. The unfortunate part about co-ops is that the rooms are open doubles (are there any with divided doubles? someone help me out here...) The benefits (which are many): food in the basement whenever you want it, more freedom to do crazy things because no RAs, etc. Also the food is better than CDS, unless you're a diehard carnivore. Neutral: you have to do a few hours work a week to keep your house and eating place from becoming a shithole.

As for dorms: I spent my first year in Burton. The rooms were boiling hot, they were open doubles (bad if you like privacy a lot), and there were these gross aquatic maggots that turned into annoying flies that lived in our sinks and could only be killed by Clorox bleach. I don't know if they were there this year or not. There were also ants. However, there is a smoking lounge in the basement. I also spent about half my time in South sleeping on my friends' floor or the couch in their quad. I like South better.

(Reply to this)

munoz
2003-06-05 06:51 am UTC (link)

Class of '95, so grainosalt:

I lived in Burton, South, Barnard, North (it has a new name now, can't remember what it's called these days - but it's north of Burton) and Fairchild.

Burton - open doubles & triples, ok-sized common rooms all over, pipes sometimes made bizarre noises, communal showers.
South - linoleum motel. but: divided doubles, shower stalls, cool TV room, nice 1st-floor lounge space, carpets that can suck up any liquid, so it's possible to kill a person and have the blood merge with the floor so no one will notice, a freight elevator where the emergency stop has no alarm so it's a perfect place for sex adventures.
Barnard - shaped like a brick, divided doubles, annoying staircase where you can't get there from here, too many damn doors to get to the outside. I have a feeling Barnard is no longer a dorm, though - wasn't it being changed over in '96 or something?
North - seedy linoleum motel. but: divided doubles, shower stalls (?); TV room with 70s feel, dark spaces, no real way to interact with other residents.
Fairchild - huge common room with a piano, if you're in the co-op in the basement it's a total bonus in the winter (trust me, body parts fall off in that cold), good rooms, legendary habit of becoming infested with head lice.

Of all of them, I liked Fairchild most of all (because I was in the co-op), with South a close second on account of the TV room and the blood-absorbing carpets.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	lo_spettro 2003-06-05 07:59 am UTC (link)
	North is Langston now, I believe. Barnard is still a dorm; it has the substance free floor. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	dalassa 2003-06-05 02:29 pm UTC (link)
	No one except staff calls it Langston though. (Reply to this) (Parent)

eengah
2003-06-05 09:19 am UTC (link)

Ok, here's my take, but keep in mind that I'm a recently graduated bitter former-RA and transfer student... So there's a lot of baggage along with my opinions.

North Campus:

East - Really not the place to live if you're looking to meet people. Decent otherwise. I lived there my sophomore year and hated it, but that's just because it was my first year at Oberlin and I wanted to meet people. Divided doubles, which are ok, but are better for living with friends after you already know them.

Barnard - Used to be the upperclassmen dorm, but next year it's going to be for all 4 years and is substance free. I think it'll be a good place to live.

Barrows - I was an RA in Barrows for 3 semesters. The first year, it was wonderful. The 2nd year, it was a little too much for me. No matter what, though, it's a great place to meet people and have a tight-knit group of friends to hang out with. However, it can tend to be a little high schoolish. Be sure that if you live there, you can stand up for yourself against your friends. Open doubles, a few singles which are usually reserved for sophomores.

Noah - Quiet, a little boring, but a decent place to live. They never really do much in terms of programming or community stuff and hall council is all but inactive. Open doubles, some singles, and a few triples.

Burton - I don't have a ton of experience with Burton, but it'd probably be my choice, after Barnard. It's friendly but not overwhelming like Barrows can be. Good stuff. Open rooms, but i don't know what sizes.

Zeke - previously all male building, lots of athletes, but not exclusively. That's really all I know about it.

North/Langston - divided doubles, really noisy and party-ish in the bad way (you don't really get to know people in the building, you just hear their parties). I wouldn't want to live there, especially knowing who the staff there is, but that's just me.

South Campus:

Fairkid - I was the Senior RA there for a semester and I wasn't a big fan, but it was ok. The walls are paper thin, and I think the first floor is cursed, but if you live upstairs you should be ok. Open rooms, mostly (if not all) doubles).

Dascomb - Dascomb gets a bad rap, but in my opinion, it's a good place. There always seems to be a lot of Dascomb pride and stuff going on there. And it never hurts to live in a building with a dining hall in it. Open rooms, mostly doubles and a few singles, I think.

South - Divided doubles, pretty anonymous living, but better than North, IMO. I have limited experience with it.

Talcott - I was their SRA for a semester too, but I didn't live there. It's nice and all, and good community, but it gets really hot in there and you can hear what's going on in the first floor from any 3rd floor room, which kinda sucks. Also, the dining hall there won't be open next year. Open rooms, mostly doubles.

So that's my take. Very opinionated, but I tried to keep most of my bitterness out of it.

There are always program houses, which I think are awesome, and co-ops, which arent for me, but are ok too.

Good luck!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

In Langstone habui. Non id recommendo.

loquaxcaesar
2003-06-05 12:59 pm UTC (link)

I lived in North. I don't recommend it. It was... Well, it wasn't horrible, let me put it that way. I was also very seriously considering living there again, but only for friends, and location to Stevenson. The three nice things about North are its proximity to Stevie (one of the cafeterias), its divided doubles, and Starlight (Starry) Lounge. The divided doubles, for me, are a must. No matter how well you get along with your roommate, you need your privacy at some point. It also solves the cleanliness factor, as you're only wallowing in your own filth and the dividing line between your stuff and your roomie's isn't vague - it's a wall. Starry is a huge lounge that stays Air Conditioned all year. Very nice in the summer, but a tad cold the rest of the year. Still, it's a great gathering place. Beyond that, there is little community, unless you know them from elsewhere and they happen to live in North. There are loud parties, frequently sloshed RAs, and next to nothing in the way of programs.

Thus my move to South, also with divided doubles. Unfortunately it is a good distance from any sort of cafeteria, but it is closer to the Conservatory (The Con) and a tad closer than North to the King/Rice/Peters Complex, housing everything from foreign languages, math, psychology, sociology, politics, economics, computer science, classical studies, and maybe English. South also has a huge lounge on the first floor and two nice lounges on every floor - comfy couches, too.

And I would be remiss if I neglected mentioning The Classics Hall - a theme hall devoted to Latin, Greek, and Classical Civilization/Archaeology. It's on the third floor of South. This coming fall semester is the first time it's ever been in existence, created by Mae Gackstetter and I - attended by classics zealots and those who tolerate them. Hopefully, if it continues next year, we'll expand our borders. Mwahahah. Fear our wrath.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

oh, Max...

okazu
2003-06-05 03:25 pm UTC (link)

(eh max, you may not remember me, but we got adorned for drag ball at the same time in the same place by the same girl. heh.)

ok-you're a connie...south is a good choice, there'll be lots of freshmen there, and there are a million reasons why a divided double will make your life easier. dascomb is smelly, but has a better sense of community, which is nice...i was in south last year, and i'm trying to get back in there again.

"the giant eclair will knock homer off the foods page and into the obituaries! hahahahahaha."

(sorry, that was just on tv.)

good luck~

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: oh, Max... loquaxcaesar 2003-06-05 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	Vaguely... What's your name? I remember Krishni did me, James, Alex, Jake? and a few others up... I can't think of you at the moment, though. Odd. (Reply to this) (Parent)

electracide
2003-06-05 03:39 pm UTC (link)

I lived in Barrows last year, and will be an expatria of the afformentioned Classics floor living in Noah. I plan on running to South semi-daily for help with Latin homework. ( if Max is willing @least ;)

Anyway...

Barrows is great. I really, really loved it. But lots of people really, really hated it. It was an intense place to live, with tons of drama 24/7. Living with all first-year students can be nuts, but it's really comforting because every single person is dealing with the same stuff. My RAs were split down the middle -- we had 6 (i think?), of them, 3 were nonexistant and the other 3 were kind, helpful, available, and pretty lenient. I think every first-year should live in Barrows, just 'cuz it makes your life much easier. There's always someone to hang out with/go to dinner with/stay up all night working with. There was a lot of silliness too -- streaking in snowstorms and dorm-wide midnight dodge ball games come to mind. My roommate moved out in February, so I had a super single for all of winter term and second semester. There was kind of a super single epidemic really, on the third floor -- people moved out and nobody was really eager to snatch up the space. Fine by us (: Lastly, Barrows has a great location. It's pretty much the closest dorm to Wilder (home of the mail room and the DeCafe, both very essential things) and the Science Library/Computer is within spitting distance. Stevenson is right across the Quad too. Everything you could ever want!

I'm living in Noah next year (right next door to Barrows). It's quiet, pretty, and also very close to all of the above places.

I think all the dorms have their merits. I'm partial to North Campus myself, but South Campus is excellent too.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Awwwww yeah! loquaxcaesar 2003-06-05 09:40 pm UTC (link)
	Carly, you'd better come by! We'll be upset if you don't visit. We'll do great stuff. The Classics Hall will thrive! And all can come by to chat, even if you don't think you know that much about classical stuff. After all, that's why we're here, no? To learn! Huzzah and Kudos for Education! (Reply to this) (Parent)

jsbww
2003-06-05 04:07 pm UTC (link)

I started last year in Dascomb. I hated it, but that was partly because of a lousy roommate experience. A lot of people like Dascomb to pieces. I thought it had a sort of immature, uptight, high-school-ish atmosphere. Not at all what I had come to Oberlin for.

I moved to Harkness second semester. One of the best decisions I ever made. Great community, wonderful spirit. I think the main difference is that Harkies are much more relaxed. The word "accepting" has become a PC cliche, but it's at the heart of why I love Harkness. People are just chill with each other, and you quickly lose the self-conciousness you probably built up in high school.

Hope this helps.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Harkness lovelyleeni 2003-06-05 06:38 pm UTC (link)
	I agree that Harkness has a laid back attitude. When I visited campus in April I walked into Harkness and realized people were serving food topless. Its a very interesting co-op. I also read something about Dumpster Diving at Harkness, is that still going on? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Harkness

loquaxcaesar
2003-06-05 09:43 pm UTC (link)

No, the dumpster diving was relatively isolated and confined to a very few people. It has also long since ceased. Despite the bad reputation that Harkness has as the Dirty Hippy dorm - which, realistically, it comes very close to being - it's a very nice place. Absolutely fantastic sense of community. Very nice people, and hosts of Story Time, a time once a week where people get together to "Read and be read to." Stories range from Enders Game to The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and James and the Giant Peach. It's very fun. I wish I had time for it last semester. You should go if you have the chance.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Harkness lilyofthewest 2003-06-06 01:52 pm UTC (link)
	On a related note/other defense of Harkness: Harkness dining did better on its last health inspection than Stevenson did. This is not just because Harkness is that much cleaner than most people's stereotypes/misperceptions though. It also is just that Stevie is even dirtier than you know. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Yet another Harkness plug
(Anonymous)
2003-06-06 05:09 pm UTC (link)

Wow. I'm impressed (though not surprised) that Harkness has elicited so many replies. I lived there all of last year. I know some of the people responsible for the "smelly hippie" stereotype, and 1) they're not really that bad and 2) they're a shrinking minority. Also, the community is amazing. I think any student who's at all into co-oping should live there at least once in their Oberlin career. And regarding dumpster diving, that officially (and otherwise) stopped last October. Also, though they're laid back in some senses, I think they're also one of the busiest co-ops I've seen. Lots of energy.
Also, Tank is a nice co-op, with huge rooms and a close community. Only drawback is that it's about 2-3 blocks from campus.
Oh yeah, my name is Tom.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Yet another Harkness plug congirli 2003-06-06 10:56 pm UTC (link)
	hey is there any one dorm or whatnotthats the most activisty? (Reply to this) (Parent)

Ah South Campus
(Anonymous)
2003-06-05 06:45 pm UTC (link)

I lived in Dascomb this past last year:
I acknowledge the "smell" issue that has been mentioned, but I place the blame squarely on a large group of serious potheads who called the place home (one of them being my roommate. Not saying she created the mess, just noting the prominant place her pipe held in our room). We, at one point, had the best stocked kitchen on campus. Which during second semester got rutinely trashed, to the point where the rest of us gave up. On the plus side though, if you're a humanities person NOTHING is closer to the Humanities buildings (Rice, King, and Peters) or to the Library, where I worked. I could litterally be at work in under two minutes.
I'd like to add, that if you're not a sciency person and you don't have a real devotion to the gym, North campus might as well be Siberia for all you'll care about it. And if you're going to the gym, the walk there counts as exercise, right? So why mind a walk? Otherwise your world exists from Wilder south...
I'm going to be on the Illustrious Classics Hall next year (All I can say is Woo for the Bellydancing Vestal Virgins!) We're fun, we fence, and I'm sure we can work around the thin walls in south. So that's my opinionated piece.

Meg

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Ah South Campus
(Anonymous)
2003-06-05 11:08 pm UTC (link)

Personally, I loved Dascomb, and assumed that the "smell" of the place was mainly due to the dining hall adjoined to the dorm, since as far as I could tell the odor coincided with the preparation of meals...

As for potheads, future Classics Hall members, musicians and every other kind of person (and no, I don't think that these are mutually exclusive categories), I really attribute a lot of my happiness at Oberlin and in Dascomb to the atmosphere of acceptance. As opposed to what I think a lot of us have experienced in high school, I feel like people aren't usually pigeonhold into specific categories or cliques, and one of the best ways to meet all kinds of people looking to make new friends is to choose a dorm mainly made up of first-years who will be in the same boat as you (meaning choosing Dascomb or Barrows, I think).

Of course this has just been my experience. I thought the dorm's atmosphere was very welcoming and friendly, and I loved almost every minute of living there.

And as someone who would probably be counted as one of those "serious potheads," I apologize if we caused any trouble. I myself wasn't trying to bother anyone...

Or give off a smell. ;)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	substance-free (Anonymous) 2003-06-06 10:45 am UTC (link)
	Hey everyone- Does anyone know anything about substance-free housing? I'm afraid that it could end up being the antisocial center of campus, but I am interested in living there because I'm not into, well, substances. At all. However, I am otherwise normal. Anyway, any insight into this would be much appreciated :) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: substance-free (Anonymous) 2003-06-06 11:55 am UTC (link)
	I know that there is going to be a substance free dorm, though which one escapes me at the moment. You can figure the third floor of East is probably substance free (Quiet Floor), and as far as I know Classics Hall is substance free, probably by default if nothing else. Hope someone else is more informative. Meg (Reply to this) (Parent)

researcher
2003-06-06 01:22 pm UTC (link)

I lived in North before it became party central. Then it was a quiet, not very social dorm, where I made a few very tight friendships. But, alas...

I also lived in Burton, but in the capacity of RA, so I can't say much about it. ANd I lived in East for a semester (2nd semester) so I don't know how it would have been community wise either.

I would like to add a plug though, for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy hall, if you are into that kind of thing. It will be on the top floor of Noah again, and it's a place for people who like Science Fiction and Fantasy. There are a large proportion of gamers in the group, which is especially nice for those seeking a community of people with that interest.

(Of course, if you have no interest in that, then you probably wouldn't want to live there. :) )

(Reply to this)

lilyofthewest
2003-06-06 02:17 pm UTC (link)

I'll put in a plug for the coops. If you live in a regular ResLife dorm its a lot like being in a bad hotel. In most ResLife housing options that you have a decent chance of living in as a freshman the rooms are pretty small and the buildings are pretty large. It kind of gives me the feel of having your own little (shared) cubicle in a giant shoebox. They vastly underpay people with insufficient health care plans to pick up your lounges, kitchenettes and clean your bathrooms. It just kinda gives me the creepies to have someone else cleaning up my toothpaste scum.

Coops are not for all, but they do have a lot of distinct advantages. You get a lot more say in how your community is run. All policies and decisions are made by consensus and you pretty much make your own rules. Coops technically have to follow the same regulations as regular dorms, but its not observed or enforced.

Room size has always been a pretty big consideration for me, and the vast majority of the doubles in Tank, Keep and Harkness are larger than the average reslife double. The ones in Noah, Fairkid and Talcott are probably have the average largest ones though. Old B has absolutely fabulous rooms but is not open to first year residents. The only sad thing as that none of the coops have divided doubles. The doubles that I lived in in Tank and Old B could easily have been triples were they ResLife housing. I had a fairly nice single in Keep.

Keep and (especially) Harknes are very centrally located, but Tank and even Old B still aren't that far away. There are advantages to living Dascomb, Talcott, Harkness or Barrows and literally being right in the middle of things, but the two buildings furthest from campus (Old B and J-house) are still only 15 minutes from the opposite end of campus - and that's at a very</i> leisurely walk. You really can't live "far away" from things - the campus isn't big enough.

Keep and Tank have single stall showers, Harkness has gang showers. All three have bathtubs (not true of all dorms). I've never officially lived in Harkness, but I have stayed there a lot and having gang showers is really cool. Sometimes there are parties in the shower and there's nothing like having the person down the hall scrub your back to foster a sense of community. I also really love having a bathtub. For most people, that's probably not an important housing criterion.

One word of caution about Tank - it has a (perhaps well deserved) reputation as the alcoholic coop. *Shrug* So far as other substances go, use is not as much more common as you might think. The one difference is that your house could decide that its okay to smoke (cigarettes or pot) in the house or in a designated lounge. Of course, people still smoke in regular dorms too. I think when coops make policies against smoking (whatever) in the house it actually tends to be more respected than in other places.

Living in a coop automatically comes along with dining in one. This is better for some people than others. I have always really enjoyed eating in a coop. Often, the food quality is better than in the dining halls, sometimes its worse. There is a lot more variety, and you get a lot more say in what you want to eat. You also always have the option to go get a snack or fix yourself something to eat without putting your life savings into the vending machines.

If you are vegetarian, the food options and nutritional content tends to be a bit better than what's offered in the dining halls. If you're vegan it can actually be really difficult to survive in the dining halls - most vegans seem to eat in coops. Meat eaters may have a little less success. How much meat there is in coops varies from semester to semester. This past semester, I think Fairkid was the only coop not having meat at least occasionally and Keep was having it 2 or 3 times a week. Keep and Tank are usually the meatiest, followed by Asia house, followed by Harkness and Old B, and with Fairkid the least meaty. Fairkid is primarily vegan.

(Reply to this)

	lilyofthewest 2003-06-06 02:19 pm UTC (link)
	Ooops. Sorry for the unclosed bold tag. Also - I very briefly lived in North, and I can't say as it was a very pleasant experience. It was huge and anonymous and noisy. My room was also teensy. (Reply to this)

	effusion16 2003-06-06 02:34 pm UTC (link)
	What buildings is Fairchild located near? Is it difficult to get a room in Fairchild as a freshman? Any other insight into what it's like to live in Fairchild? Thanks. This community has really helped me out. (Reply to this) (Thread)

deadbatteries
2003-06-07 04:49 pm UTC (link)

hey, i'm going to be a freshman at obieland, and we seem to have some similar interests. if you'd like, you can email me at es@graffiti.net :)

i toured most of the residential halls and harkness and fairchild, and i plan on living in a residential hall and eating at a co-op. i liked fairkid, but there was a few complaints that fairkid is a little too political at times - although i heard it wasn't as bad a couple other co-ops whose names are lost to me now. because i visited in april, my memory is a little off, so i'm sorry if the information i'm providing may not be accurate.

the girl i was with complained that they wouldn't get fly paper due to the fruit fly infestation because of that. i don't mind that people don't want to kill fruit flies, but - at least personally - i kind of don't want fruit flies in my food, either. besides that, i don't know too much about fairkid, except i remember being somewhat disappointed since i expected it to be slightly more clean than what it was.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: congirli 2003-06-07 08:48 pm UTC (link)
	i also plan on living in a redient hall and eating in a co-op, both hopefully fairkid, but unlike you i guess cause i am really political im excited about the politics, you can email me whnever at congirli@yahoo.com (Reply to this) (Parent)

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