Lucky Few Win with ResLife

By David Ly
Features Editor

Sophomores living in houses? A junior living in a dorm? Has Res Life’s plan to segregate the classes taken a turn for the worse? In fact, these are just some of the unusual housing situations that many students find themselves in this semester.

Since Wesleyan guarantees housing for all four years, last year’s lottery crunch hastened Res Life’s need to fill up all empty spots. This meant that people were broken up from their groups and placed in program housing and fraternities.

Some situations worked out well for students.

Ken Huynh ’01 was one of many who were put on the wait-list after the housing lottery. He was given a double in In-town during the summer. However, his fortunes turned at the beginning of this semester when two seniors he barely knew asked him to live with them after their third housemate got into a serious car accident over the summer. The misfortune opened the door for Huynh, who is now living in a spacious single on Pine Street.

"It’s awesome. I thought I would miss the dorm life because it’s so social. But over here, there’s privacy, a kitchen, two huge rooms and a lot of closet space. There are just a lot of luxuries," Huynh said. "There’s so much space I need people to fill it."

Jeff Rose ’01 was similarly placed in a one room double in Russian House over the summer, but after a requested room change, Res Life gave him the option of having a single in a five bedroom house on Fountain Avenue. Rose suddenly found himself living with three seniors.

Rose and Huynh are enjoying some of the luxuries that most students don’t see until their junior and senior years. Since most of the dorms do not have any kitchen facilities, houses provide a lot of flexibility. It gives people more freedom and an opportunity to live with friends in a real home away from home.

Some students weren’t so lucky to get rooms in wood-frame housing, but were placed into program housing, which is widely considered to be a step above the dorms. Arianne Donar ’01 was somewhat reserved when she found herself placed in a double in Sign House, but she is now ecstatic about her situation.

"I really love it here because it’s taken me into a new direction," said Donar, who is now taking sign language classes. "Unlike some of the language houses, sign is easy to learn and I can practice it here and get to know more about deaf culture."

Although Donar enjoys living in her house, other situations have been turbulent at best. People unwillingly placed in program housing have had to adjust their living habits to respect the different cultures of their house.

"They’re put in a place they know nothing about and may not want to participate in," said Hirut M’Cleod ’00, manager of International House. "They’re not really ready for the responsibilities of the house …it can eventually be a good thing, but it will take a lot of work."

Although most students would rather live in houses, some find dorm living to be advantageous.

Jeremy Hall ’00 has lived in Butterfield for the past three years, mostly because of its location. He chose to live in Butterfield B this year.

"It’s the center of everything and it’s easier for me to go anywhere, especially since I don’t have a car," he said.

Besides not having a kitchen, Hall has everything that he needs — sliding doors, a bench outside his window, and a self-made patio.

Nevertheless, almost everyone agreed that they preferred living in houses.

"After living here for a few weeks, I’ll never go back to the dorms," Donar said.