oberlin: and yet another question

h0bag (

infidel) wrote in

oberlin,
@ 2003-02-19 18:53:00

Current music:	the walkmen
Entry tags:	dorms, for incoming first-years

and yet another question

As far as dorms go, how does everyone feel about Langston, Barrows, and South for freshmen? Barrows was my first choice, but divided doubles really have appeal. :) Nothing is too far away in Oberlin, so I'm not really worried about location... I guess I'm mostly curious about the environment (making friends, transitioning, ect). Also, do divided doubles (or quads/triples, for that matter) cost extra?

Any input would be great!

(Post a new comment)

	violety6 2003-02-20 07:00 am UTC (link)
	I don't know about Langston or Barrows, really, but my thoughts on South: although divided double are indeed nifty, the building reminds me of a "sleep factory". It's gigantic (by Oberlin standards) and lacks the personality of some of the other choices (but this is coming from a devoted co-oper). (Reply to this)

eengah
2003-02-20 04:54 pm UTC (link)

I'm an RA in Barrows (this is my 3rd semester here) and I have very strong feelings about it. Last year it was really wonderful... There was a lot of community, and for the most part, people were very respectful. There wasn't as much of a communal feel, but tons of opportunities to meet people and make friends.

This year, I find the environment to be fairly disrespectful, and kind of oppressive to people who have basic human needs (ie sleep) -- but then again, I'm an old fart (a senior) and I sleep like a person with a 9-5 job, not like a college student. There is still TONS of community and it's really really easy to make friends.

My point is that Barrows seems to vary a bit year to year, but that in terms of making friends and transitioning, it's a wonderful place. I won't outright recommend it, since I didn't live here as a freshman, but I think it's a really good place for your first semester on campus. There's a lot to be said about the freedom of living somewhere where you know everyone is starting from the same place you are in terms of preparedness and making friends.

I also think that first year students shouldn't really have divided doubles. It's a nice thing to do with a friend, but with a stranger, there are almost *more* things to work out in terms of who gets the bigger room, sharing things like a fridge, etc... And it's really not conducive to friendliness.

Obviously, I have strong feelings about housing. I'm going into Student Affairs and Higher Ed next year, so it's something of a passion of mine... Feel free to contact me if you want my opinions about any other dorms.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

plastikitten
2003-02-21 07:34 am UTC (link)

Actually, divided doubles are wonderful for first years. It's very awkward to live in a room with a complete stranger, and the divided aspect helps take some of this pressure off. I lived in a divided double this year, and I became good friends with my roommate, but my friend Thomas, who also had a divided double, hated his roommate, and was glad of the two rooms.

So if you're going to be friends with your roommate, you will be friends regardless of the divide, and if you are not going to be friends, the separate rooms are a real boon. Plus, if you have to study late, or have sex, or whatever, the two rooms are really nice.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

My 2 cents

chameleon613
2003-02-20 05:34 pm UTC (link)

I don't know much about Barrows or Langston.

As a freshman in South, I can say that personally I kinda like it. It's Connie central (i.e., people who study in the Conservatory) which means if you're in the College you get to meet some people you might not got to otherwise. Some people practice in their rooms and the walls are kinda thin, but from what I hear this isn't uncommon on campus.

And personally I like my divided double, I'd just advise you to be aware that while the divider provides some privacy (and also is helpful if you are pulling an all-nighter while your roomie wants to sleep), it isn't a soundproof chamber.

Also to be considered is that I hear the personality of anywhere you live (particularly the dorms, I don't know for sure about the co-ops) changes a bit from year to year, with the different people combinations. So while South will probably remain Connie-central, its character may change from year to year (last year when I was a prospie, it was more social than it is this year, but that's probably due to the people that lived and live here).

Hope you could follow that.

(Reply to this)

maiortrud
2003-02-20 07:51 pm UTC (link)

wait, aren't you early decision?

what are you thinking not applying to talcott? :)

that's where i live, ED frosh, and it's AMAZING. i love it here. the roooms are ginormous. the freshmen bond really well, and the upperclassmen - though sometimes bitchy to us annoying froshlings - keep to themselves if they don't like us and are really wonderful if they do. and let me stress the room size - huge. and VARIED. it'd like a happy surprise every time you walk into a new room. (almost every other dorm has identical rooms). also, it's very centrally located (i know you think that you don't care about the location, but you will. trust me) and the building itself is beautiful.

ok, as for the ones you actually want.

south is huge and antisocial. barrows is all freshmen, and i don't reccommend that - this year, at least, it's been full of really immature frat-types who drink themselves unconscious every night. just plain stupid. north (langston) is unbelievably far away. i don't know anybody who likes living there. it's huge and depressing, just like south. i guess i'm really not a fan of anything that you listed. if i were you, i'd check out talcott (for south campus) and burton (for north campus). i find, too, that there's a huge divide in "personality" between north and south campuses. stereotypically, north is full of abercrombie/frat-ish, and south is more hippie/musical (the con is on south campus).

ok, i should be done rambling now.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

infidel
2003-02-20 08:35 pm UTC (link)

Oh no, now I'm going to be all confused again! :)

I was very intrigued by Talcott's photo tour on the website, but it didn't list what types of rooms are available. Do you know which kind of room I could get at Talcott? What kind do you stay in? Do you like it, or would you prefer something else?

Sorry for all the questions... I have a very hard time making up my mind (which, I suppose, means it is quite miraculous that I applied for ED). :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

maiortrud
2003-02-20 09:00 pm UTC (link)

for your purposes, talcott is all open doubles. yes, that sounds bad. no, it's not actually. the rooms are so big, you'll love it no matter how much you end up hating your roommate.

case in point - i want to murder my roommate. but i wouldn't dream of moving out. i love love love it here. i would not prefer anything else, except for my own apartment/home. in fact, i would love to live here again next year, if i can hack it.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	infidel 2003-02-21 01:33 pm UTC (link)
	Ok, thank you! A big room would be nice; I'll have to do more thinking! :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

braincloud
2003-02-20 09:10 pm UTC (link)

If you are ED I would definitely go Talcott, because it is very nice and convenient. I live in Burton, and my room is huge and wonderful and the dorm is nice, but it is not very social and kind of inconvenient.

Um, I would recommend steering clear of Barrows and Langston. If you really want a divided double (I kind of wish I had taken that option,) get one in South. I live across from Langston and the people who live there are VERY loud. ALL THE TIME. I can hear them screaming RIGHT NOW. (bitter, maybe.)

Dascomb is always an option. Very social, mostly freshmen, convenient to everything, but the rooms are kind of small and the flourescent lights will seep into your brain and drive you crazy. It is also kind of a party dorm, much like Barrows.

So basically, I would recommend South if you want a divided double, Talcott otherwise.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	dalassa 2003-02-20 09:34 pm UTC (link)
	If you want a divided double I would humbly recomend East. While the dorm is not the most social the people are friendly and you can socialize elsewhere and be able to come back to a quiet dorm to sleep. I lived there for two years and loved it. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

eengah
2003-02-20 10:40 pm UTC (link)

I actually strongly disagree with that. I found people to be hostile and rude (another example of dorm's changing personality slightly by year, I guess, since I lived there 2000/2001). And it was impossible to meet anyone. And the RAs didn't really do any encouraging of participation/meeting anyone/whatever.

I'm not saying it's a bad place, just that living there my first year in Oberlin was a HUGE mistake for ME, personally.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

ex_intervals539
2003-02-21 07:03 am UTC (link)

personally i really prefer south campus in general, but that's just me. i live in dascomb and i like it a lot: i'm not a partyer by any means and people can be a little loud occasionally but it isn't much of a nuisance in my opinion. the socialness of the dorm is something i really like. get talcott if you want nicer, bigger rooms, though it does only have one (tiny) kitchen.

i'm a fan of dascomb for all its faults (small rooms, fluorescent lighting).. it's great not to have to leave your dorm in the dead of winter to get a meal, and to only have a one-minute walk to practically all your classes. if you want a divided double, i'd say go for south. i'm probably doing that next year myself.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	infidel 2003-02-21 01:37 pm UTC (link)
	Oh my, I definitely don't want a really noisy environment. Talcott seems nice. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

ladypimpernel
2003-02-20 09:33 pm UTC (link)

I lived in Langston as a freshman, and I would strongly NOT recommend it. Basically, it manages to be antisocial while still being loud. After a year, I had only met three people on my hallway, and three more people in the whole dorm. It seemed like the people on my hall were antisocial and generally mean. And yet I was kept up until all hours by the perpetual party taking place next door. I have some friends who really loved South, though.

(Reply to this)

We're going to break it down like this.

beastdog
2003-02-21 06:43 am UTC (link)

You make wherever you end living to whatever it will be.
I live in Langston as a first year, and yes, it takes some getting used to. It is a big party dorm, and people get drunk all the time. However, divided doubles are nice (and don't fight over inside/outside, because you won't really know unless you A) really know yourself and B) REALLY know you roommate). Plus, it allows to fully decorate a room all be yourself. I lofted my bed, have a nice little office space,and tons of artwork.
There will be rude, nasty people wherever you go. Such is life. I do now that in Langston, the people here nothing like me, but everyont for the most part is pretty down to earth and kind (or at the very least, respectful)
Take note. LANGSTON IS VERY, VERY LOUD. People do not sleep in this dorm, especially if you live in or by a quad. However, if you ask people to be quiet. they will (I've come to realize that most people at Oberlin simply need to learn social skills to get what they want. People are not that hard to figure out.)

Burton isn't far from Langston in proximity and atmosphere. They get drunk every weekend as well, and it usually tends to smell more in Burton because of its. layout. The rooms in Burton a little larger, and it has a huge basement with the newpaper offices and pinpong and billiards. Burton is huge and has a friendly, party atmosphere.

Barrows is crazy. Because it is an all first year dorm, I have noticed that they seem to have the most social disorders. However it also seems to develop the tightest knit groups of friends.
Unfortunately, in Barrows you must beware of the high-school clique mentality. You'll either like it or hate it.

I think South is just the Conservatory, less athletic, more creative version of Langston. I'm not so sure about it.

The people I know in East seem to like it for the most part. After being in there a lot, they seem to have a good sense of community.

When push truly comes to shove, it will mostly depend on you. What to you have to bring to the community? How do you want your first year to be?

One word of advice. WHEN YOU COME, DO NOT OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT WITH FIRSTMERIT BANK. RUN FAR AWAY!!!!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	infidel 2003-02-21 01:43 pm UTC (link)
	:-D I'll keep that in mind! I haven't even thought about how I'm going to deal with money.... eesh. Well, actually, I probably won't have to; I won't have any! :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

(Anonymous)
2003-02-21 09:16 am UTC (link)

Hmm...Langston...that's North, right? It's a nice dorm, though noisy. Also, the distance can be a pain once the winter hits (in all its fury). It's got some nice lounges, though. Divided Doubles are a plus, unless of course you suffer from claustrophobia.
South is not so good. Lacks personality, and it's kind of confusing.
I've heard Barrows described as "Summer camp," for reasons that are described in other entries.
East is really really quiet, which you'll either love or hate. Personally, I'm a big fan of co-ops, and strongly recommend Harkness. It's got a nice atmosphere, usually has a fair proportion of first years, and the food is probably the best you'll find on campus. Plus, it's very centrally located. Of course, I'm probably biased, but still...you should check it out!
-Tharis

(Reply to this) (Thread)

thegreatape
2003-02-23 08:04 pm UTC (link)

I'm a first-year living in South. As far as South "having no personality", that's true in a way- it certainly doesn't have the social flavor or activity of Harkness or Dascomb. But depending on your personality, that can be a good thing. Less noisy crowds of people rampaging through the halls while you're trying to sleep for your early morning classes. It also has divided doubles, which are a godsend when roommate you don't like or one who has madcrazypassionate sex every night. For me, living somewhere sedate and going elsewhere for craziness is good.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

haleth_the_elf
2003-02-21 10:41 am UTC (link)

In defense of Langston:

Yes, this is a loud dorm, and fairly scattered in terms of social groups. A lot of athletes live here, and there are a lot of fairly obnoxious parties on the weekends. However, divided doubles rock, and the lounges here are spacious, nicely furnished, and there are enough of them that there is always one free for studying or hanging out. People are generally polite, and if you ask them to be quiet they will. Also, because of its weird layout, it feels much much smaller than south, even though it holds more people. I have a large group of close friends here, and the majority of the people i hang out with regularly are from this building. I like it a lot, and am considering living here again next year

(Reply to this)

dancedragon
2003-02-23 10:47 am UTC (link)

Well to start off I'm a devoted South Campuser meaning that I would definitely recommend living somewhere in central or south campus over the North Quad. I lived in Dascomb last year (before they remodeled it) and live in Old B this year. The most common comment I got last year when people found out I lived in Dascomb was "Well at least it's convenient." Which is completely true. I knew I wanted to live in an open double and Dascomb looked like it had great location. Unfortunately the building itself was not wonderful. It was very very dark and my room was tiny. The dorm was very loud too, I had almost constant sound from all sides in my room and the walls are so thin that you can hear everything. But overall it's location made it an alright place to live. I just didn't spend much time there when I wasn't sleeping. It's much nicer too now that they've redone the inside. I think it's a nice place to live your first year but not more than for one year.

This year I live in Old B which is one of the co-ops. It's a small community with only 15 people living here (although more people eat here for meals). Unfortunately only sophomores, juniors and seniors can live here so it's not a real choice for first-years. I, however, recommend possibly considering living or at eating in a co-op.

I've also heard good things about Fairchild as a dorm. I don't know much about it but it's on south campus and a nice little community. My friends who live there always seem to have people hanging out with them in their rooms.

(Reply to this)

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