With the second week of school behind them and no parental supervision, the eager young freshmen, curiosity in their eyes, set out to discover the University. Anticipation filled the air as one group of friends began their Saturday night in the Living Learning Center.
It was movie night for some. “Twilight” did not fly because of the male majority, but “Borat” was also vetoed. After half an hour of movie-rental indecision, the finalists were “Get Smart” and “Lars and the Real Girl.”
The friends walked back to Schafer Hall in the Walton Complex, and the quarrel continued.
“It’s not a chick flick,” freshman Rosie Yerke said of “Lars and the Real Girl.”
“It’s worse than a chick flick,” freshman Levi Snyder replied, as the other guys shook their heads at the pink colors and flowers on the cover of the DVD.
It finally came to a coin flip, and it seemed the boys had won this time.
As the students settled down in the lounge, couches, marshmallows, yogurt-covered pretzels and hot cocoa were all things easily agreed upon. Word spread through Schafer, and other movie-watchers peeked into the lounge; one girl came wrapped in a blanket.
Yerke and her friends agreed it was nice being able to eat what they liked and go to sleep when they wanted, all new freedoms they enjoyed after moving into the residence halls.
“It’s really cool so far. It’s like a big sleepover all the time. Homework is still homework, but you’re kind of on your own,” Yerke said.
In addition to the new sense of independence, the students felt the dorms are a great place to make new friends. Yerke cheerfully called her new roommate “the best friend (she) met two weeks ago.”
“There’s a diverse group of personalities,” said freshman Maggie Stabile, whose roommate by coincidence plays all three of the same instruments as her.
Still, students said the residence halls have their downsides.
“I hate the dorms. I don’t like living with a bunch of dudes,” said Joe Riley, still bitter about his friends waking him up with a Britney Spears song.
Others are upset at the conditions of residence hall life.
“The mattresses are like sleeping on rocks; it gets really hot and stuffy,” Natalie Soda said.
One complained he had been locked out of his room four times in two weeks, and Yerke added that the shower curtain in the bathroom wasn’t long enough.
While some weighed the pros and cons of dorm life, others took advantage of meeting new people.
Outside, Louis Breuner and his friend Phil Levy were heading to the 7-11 convenience store for some late night snacks with some newfound friends.
“We met these girls tonight. They’re from the hall next to us,” Breuner said, adding that one had to be careful when changing in the dorm’s shower room because everyone in the other hall could see what was going on. Levy had been the first to give their neighbors some entertainment.
“All the girls were clapping and cheering,” Breuner said.
Upstairs in Schafer, a group of freshmen gathered on the floor of the hallway devouring a pizza, as a wanderer randomly introduced herself and joined the crew. An open bedroom door revealed a coffeemaker and a large bin with the word “vitamin” scribbled on it.
Students pointed to where they draped sheets over their beds to make a fort.
“College is the best seven years of your life!” shouted an excited Mike Steinkirchner, who one can assume intends to go to graduate school.
For Molly Harbottle, the best part of living in the dorms is pranking the boys. Earlier in the week, she helped spread packing peanuts across the entire floor above hers.
Steinkirchner picked up a guitar with a kangaroo sticker on it and began playing “Helplessly Hoping” by Crosby, Stills and Nash. Several people began singing along, and there was a pause in the contagious, hysterical laughing. For a moment, everyone seemed to forget what was surely on their minds — all that was to come in their first year of college.
“It gets better every time,” Maddy Weatherhead said as the song came to an end.
Even with the dysfunction of structural shortcomings, the students came to learn that there was probably more to love than complain about dorm life.
“It feels homey,” Stabile said.
Harbottle agreed, “We have a new family.”
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