This coming semester marks the beginning of my senior year, and my third year of blogging for Butler! In the past, I’ve given tours of my dorm rooms. However, we switched to a new server last year, and all my archived posts were lost. Since they now indeed seem to be Lost Forever, I’m going to rehash some old dorm rooms in hope of helping new students getting ready to go to college. Excuse me, old-time readers, if I repeat myself!

Most freshmen live in Schwitzer (all girls) or Ross (two floors of boys, one floor of girls). I lived in a double room on the first floor of Schwitzer. Schwitzer, while perhaps not as lively as Ross, has certainly been the loudest place I’ve lived. It comes from a bunch of new, excited girls living in one unit, sharing one bathroom, tromping down the hall with doors partially open in invitation.

The corner of my unit's hallway in Schwitzer. As you can see, there were frequent meetings.

The red dolly came from the front desk. Students at all residence halls can check out tons of things at the front desks: dollies for moving heavy objects (yes… that’s what we were doing in the hallway… uh-huh…), movies, games, and cleaning supplies like vacuums. At ResCo, you can check out a key for the piano in the basement; in Schwitzer, the piano sits in the main lobby.

A few freshmen live in ResCo, but it is mostly sophomores. ResCo is much, much quieter than Schwitzer, which is nice for studying but perhaps not so nice for meeting a lot of new friends. I credit the quietness of ResCo to the following items:

• Sophomores generally have a group of friends already. They are not unwilling to meet new people — far from it! — but they are not knocking on doors introducing themselves like in Schwitzer.
• ResCo rooms are suite-style. Two double rooms share a bathroom, so you brush your teeth with three other people rather than twenty.
• ResCo doors are heavy, and they close automatically. When they close, they lock automatically. In my Schwitzer unit, girls left their doors half-way open, and if a door were closed, one only had to knock and hear the “come in!” to visit.
• RAs (resident assistants) in Schwitzer are more hands-on. Units are smaller and focus on group activities. ResCo RAs, while they have programming and are always available, aren’t as large a part of residence life.
• Schwitzer has no AC. ResCo does. Misery loves company.

Since I have not lived in Ross, I can’t tell you how that compares. Wherever you end up, however, you will find Bulldogs ready to make your transition to college an exciting one!