By Lauren Silver
When I was filling out my housing request form before entering campus in 2001, I had only been exposed to the suites, so naturally that was my first choice. The idea of communal showers and public bathrooms grossed me out enough and easier access to a kitchen seemed ideal. After dealing with three suitemates. I didn’t get along with, and having to clean my own bathroom, I called it quits. By February 2002, I had moved on to the towers.
The biggest change I faced was living in a single. There were no arguments over friends, bedtime or public nudity. I could come and go as I pleased, and I knew who was being called. It can take a while to get a single. I waited almost an entire semester. It was, however, well worth it. Let’s face it, not everyone was made to get along with everyone else.
I quickly noticed the fire drills. Three alarms occurred during a two-day span during the past week, two during the wee hours of the morning. There was a grand total of one in the Netherlands for the two semesters I was there. I had actually planned to make a betting pool to guess when the first alarm would ring this year, but minutes later, the buzzing beat me to the punch. They often go off during finals week with haunting accuracy, ensuring that anyone’s effort to get that good night sleep will be in vain.
Other students had their own experiences adapting to tower life.
Kelly Quatrale, a junior Athletic Training major and RA for Enterprise Hall, said, “It’s hard not to have my own bathroom.”
She also had to get used to being high up in the tower.
“In the suites, it’s almost like an apartment,” Quatrale said.
Still, she emphasizes she learned to love the towers. Enterprise’s assistant director, Kristen Carter, a junior Television Production major, does think the suites are a better size, and described the Liberty/Republic complex as almost palace like, especially the carpeted floors. But it was nice to be able to move around in Enterprise-she had a triple during her freshman year, and a single ever since.
“I love Enterprise,” Carter said with an enthusiastic smile.
Junior Drama major Mike Drummey, said. “I really like having my own living space. I like the privacy.”
“Being sent outside for a fire drill at 3 a.m. isn’t fun but I much prefer it here,” Drummey said. “I also like living high up [in the tower].”
Fewer problems were discovered with the bathrooms in the towers than with the suites. There are two showers in each bathroom, and only once in the two years I’ve lived there have they both been occupied when I needed them. This is a stark contrast to sharing one bathroom and one toilet with one lock on the door between four needy girls. The bathrooms are also conveniently cleaned by the benevolent University staff.
The rooms in the towers are smaller, and lack a private lounge area, but on the top floor of each building are a kitchen, complete with a microwave and a large study area. I have learned the hard way, though, not to leave my food in the oven unattendedpeople will remove your cooking dinner and replace it with their own.
The same phenomenon has been known to occur with the laundry. Bring a book and be prepared to wait for either or, in the case of food, invest in an Absocold unit and nuke it in the comfort of your dorm.
I must admit that I know little of the events that are held in my building, but from what the RA’s have told me, I’m not alone. Unlike in individual buildings within suites, a tower student may go for a year without realizing a friend was in the same building, or even on a nearby floor. The feel isn’t nearly as tight-knit as in the suites, and I really can’t say I feel “Enterprise Pride.”
The difference between suite and tower living is entirely a matter of taste, and there will always be students who will swear by either. I am perfectly comfortable in my building, and my suite friends seem thrilled with theirs. They say variety is the spice of life, and I would think that applies here. It can mean the difference between a fun, comfortable semester and an intolerable one.