2008 Woodie Awards
Dorm life littered with many problems
By Jess Rupell
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Opinion
After reading an essay for College Writing I entitled "Why Don't We Complain," by William F. Buckley, Jr., I have decided that indeed, it is my time to rant. And what better topic to complain about but dorms, of course? Yes, there are positive things about living in dorms. Meeting lots of people, who all live literally feet away, and learning to appreciate that your bedroom at home is, in fact, way larger than you thought it was are two such reasons.
The downsides, however, have begun to slowly reveal themselves to me, and seem to outnumber the pros. I will admit that I love just walking down the hall to see some of the girls who have become like best friends to me. However, I must tell you that I strongly dislike the fact that people in my hall love to play extremely loud music at 3 a.m., on a weekday...with their doors open, mind you.
Quiet hours? Unheard of, at least on my floor. I'm quite confused as to why, when I am in and out of my room numerous times during the day, that I have honestly NEVER seen some of these girls doing anything but socializing in each other's rooms or talking on their cell phones. Um, homework? Now, I understand fully that some classes are not as difficult as others, but how does one go without studying or reading for a class and still pass? Maybe I'm just an over-achiever.
Oh, and how could I forget to talk about the bathrooms? I cannot tell you how much I adore showering with flip flops in a 3x3 cell with little gnats flying around. Also, I love looking at the sinks with some plaster-like material keeping them from leaking and, depending on the time of day, seeing remnants of hair, toothpaste and God only knows what else in them.
But that's not the best part of dorm bathrooms. I think my favorite part about the restrooms is getting to use the paper-thin toilet paper to pee (or worse...well, you know) with 17 of your best friends, 14 of which forget to wipe the seat off or see if all of their bodily materials actually went down the toilet. But, of course, who wouldn't want to be helpful and flush it for their hall-mate?
The downsides, however, have begun to slowly reveal themselves to me, and seem to outnumber the pros. I will admit that I love just walking down the hall to see some of the girls who have become like best friends to me. However, I must tell you that I strongly dislike the fact that people in my hall love to play extremely loud music at 3 a.m., on a weekday...with their doors open, mind you.
Quiet hours? Unheard of, at least on my floor. I'm quite confused as to why, when I am in and out of my room numerous times during the day, that I have honestly NEVER seen some of these girls doing anything but socializing in each other's rooms or talking on their cell phones. Um, homework? Now, I understand fully that some classes are not as difficult as others, but how does one go without studying or reading for a class and still pass? Maybe I'm just an over-achiever.
Oh, and how could I forget to talk about the bathrooms? I cannot tell you how much I adore showering with flip flops in a 3x3 cell with little gnats flying around. Also, I love looking at the sinks with some plaster-like material keeping them from leaking and, depending on the time of day, seeing remnants of hair, toothpaste and God only knows what else in them.
But that's not the best part of dorm bathrooms. I think my favorite part about the restrooms is getting to use the paper-thin toilet paper to pee (or worse...well, you know) with 17 of your best friends, 14 of which forget to wipe the seat off or see if all of their bodily materials actually went down the toilet. But, of course, who wouldn't want to be helpful and flush it for their hall-mate?
