Choosing one’s dorm of residence for the year is part of the college experience. There are many choices as to what to look for in a dormitory, from its commodities to its location.
With 11 dormitories to choose from, students will have preferences, especially depending on age. Brevard Hall, which is now a wet dorm, is going to be changed to a dry, alcohol free dormitory from Fall 2013 and on, while the new dormitory, Res Hall 7, is going to be a wet dormitory.
“When looking at the students who are living in Brevard currently, I can tell you last semester there were only 47 people at the end of December who were over 21, and as of now, there are only 90,” said Kade Ross, Assistant Director of Residence Life. “As you can see of the over 400 people that live there, the majority are not even able to drink. So for us, this was an easy decision to make as the average age in Brevard gets lower and lower.”
An RA in Vaughn also agrees with this, “I think that it is a good idea, because roughly half of residents in Brevard are under 21 anyways, so making it dry should not affect their choice of dorm,” said junior economics major Artiom Gherman.
There has not yet been a major switch or a switch at all from students requesting Brevard to requesting Res Hall 7 because the housing selection process for either Brevard or Res Hall 7 has not started. Res Hall 7, which will now be only for upperclassmen, is going to give students one more dormitory choice to have in addition to other three wet dormitories.
“The new dorm on the other side will most likely attract upperclassmen who would like to try something new,” said Gherman.
Even though none of the dormitories are designated as either freshmen, sophomore, junior or senior, students still prefer certain dormitories over others. “Since the new policy about Brevard has changed, my preference for a wet dorm has changed to Rescom and Res Hall 7,” said sophomore government major Peter Sanchez.
As far as other policies involving dormitories changing, the Brevard alcohol policy is the only change for now.
Since Brevard is predominantly under 21, there should not be much change in current behavior.
“Though looking at it from the capacity of both buildings, Brevard currently has a capacity for 471 beds that could be for 21 and over students, whereas the new building has a capacity for 528 spaces and so we are adding 57 additional alcohol designated spaces to campus,” said Ross.
However, without knowing the dynamics of the new dormitory, Ross is not able to state what the benefits will be for the dormitory.
Students who feel affected by this decision are encouraged to attend The Residence Hall Association meetings on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in Brevard Community Room to express their comments and concerns. In addition, the RHA board is also a top resource for students on campus to want to get involved with campus life.
Yasaman Sherbaf can be reached at Yasaman.Sherbaf@theminaretonline.com