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BY ALYSSA WORK

In print | Published September 9, 2004

The grass may not be greener at the New Dorm — construction workers are still in the process of landscaping and dust is the primary groundcover at this point — but the walls are certainly whiter, the halls cooler and the bathrooms shinier. The modern dorm opened to sophomores, juniors and seniors last week, and already its residents have plenty of things to say about life in the New Dorm.

“Physically, it’s the nicest to live in, no question,” said Patrick Hart ‘06, who lives in a double in the dorm. "It’s new, and there are kinks to be worked out, but in general I’m impressed with it."

The airy, L-shaped building contains 75 rooms, including big and small singles, big and small doubles, and six loft-style doubles on the upper floors, inhabited primarily by seniors.

Eleanor Forbes ‘05 shares a loft on the upper floor of the dorm. “You come in on the third floor,” she said, "and there’s a pretty wide staircase, and the windows make it look like the ceiling is opened up. It’s nice."

All six lofts are accessible from the third floor where a smaller lower room leads into a flight of stairs and a larger upper living space. Full-length windows look out on the campus from the lofts. And for those students not lucky enough to have a loft, the third-floor lounge has large windows and a balcony.

In addition to the lofts, the dorm’s cleanliness is also one of its major selling points. “There are no mice, no ants, and there’s no puke on the floor yet,” Jeff Donlea ’05 said.

The interior of the dorm is finished, though the building currently lacks a public-sized fridge, a working television and enough sofas. The large first-floor lounge area, which, unlike the upper two lounges, will not be dry, is still under construction. Most students, however, are not bothered by the resulting noise.

“It’s only bad if we leave the windows open,” Tara Miller ‘07 said, "and it looks like they’re doing a good job, so I don’t mind."

“I’m from New York, so noise is good,” Julia Morrison ’07 said. “It reminds me of home.”

Still, the construction does create other small inconveniences, Morrison said, recalling one rainy day when she got “really muddy” walking through the site to get back to her room.

But when the sun is out, the New Dorm is the place to be, due to its status as the only air-conditioned dorm on campus. Despite rumors, there is air conditioning only in the hallways and bathrooms. Nonetheless, students still rave about it.

“It’s awesome,” Forbes said. “It’s really hot in the loft, but we leave the door open and that lets the A/C blow in.”

Despite its many amenities, some residents of the New Dorm expressed concern that the building doesn’t have much “character” yet.

Morrison coined the word ‘Trotter-esque’ to describe her feeling about the dorm. “It doesn’t quite seem lived in,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m walking to my office instead of walking home.”

“Every dorm has its little reputation, and we’re still really new,” Miller said. “But after the first hall meeting last night maybe we’re starting to create community.”

The one element left in truly creating identity — a name — is still up in the air. Some students proposed giving the dorm a name that reflected its L-shape; others wanted to honor 2nd floor RA Joe Raciti by dubbing it “Racitiland.”

Others looked to alumni for inspiration. “Personally, I think it should be named after Dukakis,” Hart said.

Morrison, however, expressed the more likely idea that the dorm will remain the New Dorm until someone donates half of the construction cost, earning him or herself the rights to the dorm’s name. Not that students seem too bothered by living in a nameless dorm: “It’s new, it’s clean, and that’s enough for me,” Forbes said.

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