We've got spirit, yes we do

by Christian Holub

Woo shack! Woo rah!

I can’t think of any other dorm at Northwestern that has its own nickname, much less a call-and-response chant involving that nickname. But hey, that’s the thing about Willard. We kind of do our own thing over here. More than any other dorm at Northwestern, Willard has its own microculture, and whether or not you choose to become a part of it, it’s a big part of the experience.

Microculture is a sociological term that I may or may not have just made up. It denotes small, insular communities, and Northwestern is littered with them. That’s actually one of the cool things about this school: Yes, there’s Greek life here, but it’s not your only option for a social life, unlike at some other schools. For example, if you’re a theater major or on the sailing team, you’re also part of a community of like-minded friends. Willard offers another version of this.

I’m pretty sure every dorm offers its own special events and formals, but Willard is the only place where people actually care. Attendance is always high at formal, which usually takes place somewhere cool like a planetarium downtown. There's also the legendary Polka Party, which defies explanation to some degree but does include good food, ridiculous costumes and dancing to the eclectic sounds of polka music.

However, the Willard community extends far beyond these simple social gatherings. Campus publications like the Northwestern Flipside and Sherman Ave were founded there. In addition, almost every week of fall and winter quarter brings with it a new fireside, a presentation by someone in the dorm about a topic that can range from useful (tips on how to successfully fundraise for Dance Marathon) to bizarrely niche (an explanation of Brony culture).

But even if you’re not into the social aspect, Willard’s other upsides make for a great dorm experience. The rooms are large and comfortable. The Willard dining hall uniquely involves ordering food from a menu (instead of standing in a 10-minute line for stir fry) and transforms, werewolf-like, into Fran’s Café once the sun goes down. A helping of Fran’s tater tots at 1 am cannot be beat. The building is pretty old, which adds a majestic Hogwarts feel to everything, but also involves a lack of AC. Needless to say, this would be a huge problem if we didn’t start school in October.

Willard also has one of Northwestern’s most active email listservs. All the random “has anybody seen my wallet” emails might seem annoying the first few weeks, and some people overreact by canceling their listserv subscription. Rookie mistake. The listserv eventually becomes a great place to hear about campus events and general goings-on, as well as a good way to find out if anyone has a yellow Spinelli hat you can borrow for your Recess-themed party. Very helpful.

Willard is also located at the twilight zone where Northwestern and downtown Evanston meet, which means that E-town’s treasury of great restaurants is only a minute’s walk away. This cannot be overestimated, especially when you need a quick breather from NU life.

Although Willard isn’t perfect (the fifth floor laundry room is a pain to get to), no dorm is. I highly recommend it, particularly if your classes are mostly located toward Sheridan’s south end.

A brief history of Woo Shack

by Polina Senderova

Willard Residential College gets its name and slogan (“Liberty, Chastity, Sobriety”) from Frances Willard, an educator, temperance reformer and women’s suffragist from the late 19th Century. Though some of her more conservative ideas are outdated for today’s college student, residents of Willard (or “The Wooshack” as its residents have nicknamed it) honor Frances’ memory in several ways, and many residents take an avid interest in the woman for whom it was named.

Willard is one of the most popular dorms of South Campus and many freshmen and sophomores who now live elsewhere initially applied there. This is a fact Wooshack sophomores can attest to, since the dorm has a high retention rate. Willard inhabitants come from all backgrounds, with majors varying from Engineering to Journalism to Theatre and spanning all six undergraduate schools. Though McCormick students may have a longer walk to Tech than, say, a Bienen student, this doesn’t stop the science-inclined from residing at Willard.

The building itself is one of the older buildings on campus. So although its architecture is beautiful, its facilities are not brand-new, although everything is functional enough. The dorm includes a kitchen with a microwave and stove, laundry room and controllable heating in all dorm rooms. It also has multiple study, game and TV lounges, a library and a piano for the musically inclined. The dorm is well-known for very large rooms and lounge-size triples, which students compete to live in. Students also enjoy Willard’s lounge-like dining hall downstairs with an electronic menu and a buzzer system for ordering food. After dinner, the dining hall transforms into Fran’s Café, a late-night option for hungry studiers throughout South Campus.

Like other residential colleges, Willard has a points system — residents gain housing points by going to and hosting events like firesides, munchies, coffee hours, high table, recycling and cross residential college trips throughout Evanston and Chicago, which can then be used to re-apply for residency the following year. Willard also has its own unique events, which are perhaps its greatest pull to incoming freshmen: it has fall and winter formals, a winter “Polka Party” and a Hawaiian-themed “Woo-Au-Luau” during spring quarter. Attendance to these events gains you points which, at the end of the year, determine room preference.

By far, the greatest aspect of Willard is its community feel. During the first month or so (and in some cases throughout the year), many people keep their doors open — facilitating a social environment for freshmen and sophomores alike. Like any dorm, people typically become closest with those on their own floor, although dormwide events also help inter-floor mingling.

The best of both worlds

by Inhye Lee

I didn’t really know much about Chapin before I got here. I’d heard that it was full of “strange people” and that living there was the equivalent of condemning myself to minimal social interaction with the outside world. This obviously worried me because I wanted to make friends in college. Thankfully, all of that turned out to be a lie.

Chapin is honestly the best dorm to live in on campus. Aside from the enormous rooms (the largest on campus) which provide a ton of wall space for posters (I currently have eleven), Chapin is actually very conducive to forming close bonds with the people you live with. You might think that living in a larger dorm with several hundred people is going to make it easier for you to make friends, but that isn’t true. In Chapin, because there are only about 70 people, you actually get to know a lot of people very well. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it happens. The great thing about becoming close friends with the people in your dorm is that you never feel lonely. Even if you spend all day stressing out about homework in your room, people will stop by just to say hi and chat for a bit.

Another great thing about living in Chapin is that you have easier access to television. Yes, other dorms have televisions too, but because Chapin is small enough, you can make reservations to watch your favorite TV episodes and movies whenever you want. There’s also food involved, especially when it’s for watching huge live events like the Oscars and the Super Bowl.

Location-wise, it has its advantages and disadvantages. I admit it: It’s a bit of a trek when you’re taking classes that are further up north, but it really isn’t that bad. Also, if anything, the fact that it’s right next to downtown Evanston more than makes up for the fact that Tech and SPAC are so far away. I personally love to go to the movie theater in Evanston and living in Chapin is great for spontaneous movie runs. And if you happen to be hungry or need to buy something in a hurry, CVS, restaurants and cafes are only a few minutes away.

If you really want to get the college experience that combines on-campus living and off-campus exploring, live in Chapin. You’ll never go hungry and you’ll never be bored.

Size Does Matter

by Erik Zorn

Eight months ago, before I was even an official Wildcat, I had a major problem. I was not placed in one of my top five dorms that I had requested. After spending excessive amounts of time completing extensive research on which dorms I wanted to live in, I selected Willard, Shepard, Slivka, Ayers CCI, and 1835 Hinman as my top five. But none of my wishes came true because I ignorantly picked a freshman seminar that sealed my fate to living in a lowly dorm that almost no one had heard before: Chapin Hall.

While I can now honestly say that I couldn’t have wished for a better dorm, I was devastated back in August. After coming to terms with the fact that I would have to live in this Chapin Hall for my entire freshman year, I delved into the Internet for more information. Chapin is the oldest residential building at Northwestern and was opened in 1901. It is primarily known for having the largest rooms on campus, and it has been the Humanities Residential College since 1980. I couldn’t complain about the room size, but being a science major in a humanities-themed building frightened me. When I came upon the student-run Chapin website, I almost burst into tears at the amount of social awkwardness. The front page of the website featured a video of a student in Chapin dancing and then proposing to a body pillow, and all I could think was, “Will I have any normal friends if I live here?”

My expectations were very low for living in Chapin, but throughout this year, Chapin has proven itself over and over to be outgoing and a great social place to live. Being a small dorm of 72 students, the community within Chapin is very strong and the other “Chapinos” are practically an extension to my family. The atmosphere is very relaxed, but there is also always something going on. We have several subsidized events, from the Improvised Shakespeare Theatre to like the Jay-Z and Kanye West concert, “Watch the Throne." While Chapin's residential college theme is the humanities, students come from all interests and background.

Because it is situated on the southwest end of University Place, Chapin’s location is not exactly ideal relative to campus, but it is the closest dorm to downtown Evanston. Groceries from CVS and Whole Foods are only three minutes away, and for those late night cravings, Clarke’s, BK Lounge, and Taco Bell are also conveniently close. For getting to classes, especially those in Tech, having a bike is convenient to have at Chapin, but the distance is less than what most people make it out to be.

It would be dishonest for me to overlook Chapin’s facilities. I already mentioned that Chapin has the largest rooms on campus, but it’s worth mentioning. Having a couch is entirely possible without even having to bunk beds, and there is also lots of wall space for posters and wall decorations. Chapin is also one of the lucky dorms being completely renovated over the summer, and with that, there will be several improvements. The new renovations will bring in new kitchens on all three floors, as well as two bathrooms on each floor, allowing floors to be coed for the first time.

Did I find normal friends in Chapin? No. Did I find extraordinary friends? Yes. Living in Chapin has been a surprisingly fantastic experience, and I am excited to be living there next year.

Blast from the past

by Dana Driskill

When I filled out the housing application for Northwestern, I had never heard of the North Mid Quads (NMQ). The name is slightly misleading – the residence hall is actually located on South Campus, about a block west of the Arch and just two blocks from downtown Evanston.

When I received the email, I immediately set out to research what I had gotten into. The reviews of the dorm were absolutely terrifying: Everyone told horror stories of unfriendly/weird neighbors and crappy furniture. One review urged freshman to transfer out because it is impossible to make friends.

The reviews were right about a couple things: The rooms are small, and it’s been confirmed that the furniture has been the same since the 80s. (I kid you not, during Homecoming weekend alumni from the class of '91 walked in and laughed over the fact that NMQ hadn’t changed at all since they lived there.) Also, there’s no air conditioning or control over the heater, which can be frustrating during unseasonably hot or cold days. What the reviews failed to mention is that there always seems to be construction going on in the courtyard, resulting in waking up the entire dorm at 6 a.m. every morning. And on the other side of the dorm, emergency vehicles generally pass by late at night.

After reading all of this, no one in their right mind would be excited about NMQ. I don’t blame you in the slightest, since no one I lived with requested it. I didn’t and I’m fairly confident no one else who lives in NMQ did either. That’s the running joke of the place. Last year’s Mid-Quad t-shirts had the slogan "The Mid Quads, because we didn’t get our top 5."

And oddly enough, that’s the beauty of living in NMQ. People this year decided that although we were stuck in a bad dorm, we might as well make the most of it. I can honestly say some of my best friends live on my floor and I will always be grateful that NMQ brought us together. Yes, some of our other dorm mates are odd, but no odder than the average socially awkward Northwestern student, and our island of misfits toys has a certain charm to it. In fact, our mutual friends who live in different, nicer dorms prefer to hang out in NMQ because they enjoy the sense of community so much. Whether we’re together on a weeknight playing ping pong in the lobby and working on homework, or coming back together late on a weekend and hearing/reenacting the highlights of the night, NMQ is definitely my home away from home. The location is convenient as well: It's close to downtown Evanston and just a block away from the Plex dining hall, which is open essentially all day from 7:45 a.m. to 11 p.m.

There’s no guarantee NMQ will have the same sense of community next year, as dorms vary year to year due to the people. And that’s why I'm presenting the good, the bad and the ugly of dorm life at Northwestern. You may or may not end up where you wanted to, but my advice is simply to make the best of it.

Making the most of NMQ

by Sylvan Lane

North Mid-Quads is a hard place to pin down.

Full disclosure: NMQ wasn’t my first choice on the application. Or my second. In fact, it never cracked my list.

A significant portion of NMQ’s population is made up by people in my exact shoes — people who preffed the best dorms on campus (Like Elder, "Hotel" Allison and Bobb) but had some of the worst housing numbers. Others are upperclassmen in the same boat, students who appreciate the dorm’s reputational solitude and quiet, and a few other unique cases.

And once you get to NMQ you understand why it doesn’t have the same appeal as it’s bigger, better counterparts.

NMQ is aptly defined by what it lacks. We have no A/C, a minor inconvenience that’s exacerbated exponentially by the dorm’s chronic lack of ventilation. Any time the temperature inches above 70 degrees, the rooms become unbearably hot unless the windows are wide open.

The rooms are on the smaller side, but the lack of overhead lighting keeps our awkwardly-shaped floor lamps and desk lamps clocking overtime. The fact that we have only one lounge in the entire dorm turns hallways into hangouts and our kitchenette often becomes a study lounge/private call room.

To the Housing Department’s credit, our lounge has recently been improved. The Soviet Era couches and chairs that we used for two quarters — and I’m not exaggerating — have been replaced with Allison’s old furniture and we recently received a new flat-screen HDTV with gorgeous reception. Cable would be nice though.

And let’s not forget about the fact that it's possible to get locked in NMQ’s staircase.

Yet, there are positive aspects to living in NMQ. Being squeezed in between two halves of the sorority quad gives us easy access to academic buildings down south and downtown Evanston, making food runs quicker and early classes at Fisk a little more bearable.

My fellow Mid-Quaders and I bonded quickly over the crappiness of NMQ and what living in it entails. While this was facilitated by the diminutive size of the dorm, we quickly befriended each other for whatever reasons.

I’ve witnessed some seemingly unbreakable friendships form in my hallway and the rest of the dorm this year, and even as Greek life, extracurricular activities and the general progression of freshman year slowly dissolves the bonds that brought the dorm together, it’s safe to say that the few positives of living in NMQ will outweigh the temporary negatives.

That’s not to say that, if I could, I wouldn’t put myself in Elder where I wanted to be going into this year. But still, I know that making the most of living in NMQ this year will be something I look back on fondly once my days as a student are over — I just can’t pin down how yet.

A great place, if you fit the bill

by Blair Dunbar

On the whole I have loved living in Shepard. Most of my best friends at school are from my floor. We have had many “floor bonding” nights where we leaned our backs against the wall and talked for hours. We organized a third floor “Classy Christmas Party” and made Easter brunch in the Shepard kitchen. I love Shepard because I love my floor. As with any dorm you live in, the people on your floor can make or break your freshman dorm experience. This year, the third and fourth floor of Shepard became very close.

Shepard is full of eclectic, quirky people. If that’s your type of crowd, you should have no trouble finding friends. Since Shepard holds many “Shepard-specific” events (firesides, movie nights, ping-pong tournaments) it is easy to meet people. Another aspect I enjoyed was the fact that many sophomores live in Shepard. I even had a senior living on my floor. It’s nice having contact with upperclassmen on a regular basis. They are a great resource, especially in the fall when you’ve just started school. The senior on my floor helped me with my science homework and CAESAR’s technical difficulties.

Shepard is not for everyone. It is certainly not a party dorm, and those who do like to party hard may feel out of place. An ideal Saturday night typically involves watching movies rather than heading out to a frat party.

Also, the laundry room is in the basement. While this may seem like a trivial point, believe me, if you live on the third or fourth floor you will quickly become tired of having to walk up and down the three or four flights of stairs with a heavy bag of laundry in your hands.

Music majors abound in Shepard. You have to be willing to listen to people practicing their instruments or singing – either in the practice rooms or in their own rooms – at all hours of the day and night. In addition, the music constantly floating along the halls can become a nuisance, and Shepard is not the place if you’re looking for huge rooms or recently renovated bathrooms.

Shepard is a very tight-knit community. However, if you feel as though you could find a place in that community, you definitely won’t be sorry.

Finding solace in captivity

by Amanda Glickman

I really hope I don't have Stockholm Syndrome from living (aka being trapped) in Shepard Residential College. The weird musty smell of the acrid yellow halls is starting to feel comforting. The lack of common areas to promote new friendship and/or provide a place to escape the desk/bed is seeming less and less of a hindrance on my general social life.

But don't be fooled – "Shep" (as I started calling it faux-affectionately early on) is not an ideal place to be, especially for a freshman seeking to get acquainted with campus. Shep becomes all-enveloping, like jail...but with pretty nice, 16'x12' cells.

Lodged way down south, far from the bulk of partying available to freshmen that occurs in the frats and res halls up north, Shep makes it hard to be informed as to where and when these gatherings happen. Freshmen who live up north will often start the parties IN their dorms and the CAs are understandably more lax due to the frequency of such pregaming activities. However, if you were to try this shiz in Shepard, you would either be wildly successful (perhaps the CA was busy getting busy with her marching band boyfriend), or pathetically busted (cranking dubstep on an otherwise-dead floor is a, well, dead giveaway that something's going down).

Shepard has:

• A dungeon-like basement with one scary kitchen that reeks of stale ramen and hopelessness
• A decently-sized laundry room (could be a lot worse)
• A TV/Rec lounge frequented by the same group of boys playing pool
• A few practice rooms guarded on the reg by bitchy opera/theatre majors
• A study lounge/computer lab that is highly monopolized by pre-med students with no social skills
• The infamous "sketch lounge" (a large version of the practice rooms), a place of intense "sketchiness" that is supposedly used for "one time at band camp" kinky sexual activity.

Keep in mind that Shepard doesn';t have a particular theme, but it is a Residential College – the majority of its inhabitants have common majors (usually a fun mix of Bienen kids and kids who love econ/comp sci). Therefore, if you are NOT a music student or school-workaholic, Shepard is not going to be easy on your sanity.

However, there are handfuls of people who get stuck in Shep randomly and these people are scattered throughout the four floors. Biggest piece of advice? Meet them all from the get-go (trust me, you'll have something in common right away: "How did we get stuck living in such a weird place, like WHAT THE F-?"). Make plans to go out together or just hang over-occupancy-style in someone's dorm (again, the lack of common rooms in Shep astounds me). You are not alone in this sea of trombone prodigies. Just run up and down the floors, knocking on doors and introducing yourself. It is possible to make friends here. They just won't be right in front of you, pounding shots and inviting you to a game of Kings – they'll be waiting for your random-ass door-knock because they were too scared to do it themselves.

The most beautiful social vacuum on campus

by Alex Nitkin

Students often like to compare Allison Residential Community to a hotel, and with good reason: It’s clean, beautiful and comfortable. The building’s sprawling W shape means that hallways are long and straight, with rows of doors on each side. Rooms are spacious and carpeted, and not a single crevice of the building is untouched by bright fluorescent light and climate-controlled air. Also, just like a hotel, people in different rooms typically don’t talk to each other.

With the exception of the first floor “virgin vault,” a sort of half-floor of all girls that plays by its own rules, each of Allison’s four floors is divided into two hallways - two for guys and two for girls - to house a total of about 100 people. In Allison you’ll find no suites, no open lounges, no kitchenettes. The only communal space on each floor is one closed-door TV room, about the size of a triple bedroom, which most people rarely enter.

Having undergone a major renovation in summer 2011, Allison’s bathrooms are huge and look like they belong in a Kohler commercial. Have no illusions, though – college students are capable of turning even the brightest of linoleum into a disgusting mess. We have a knack for it.

The door to each room is heavy and closes automatically, and if that doesn’t give you enough privacy, each door is inset into the wall by about two feet. Bottom line: It's not designed for room-hopping or constant socializing. It's all based around a mentality of "When your room is so nice, why would you ever leave?"

Now, after I’ve spent a year as a college student, Allison is ideal for me. It’s located right at the chokepoint between South Campus and downtown Evanston, which means that Burger King and the Arch are both a half-step away. But at the beginning of the year, meeting new people and making college friends are at the top of freshmen’s priorities. And Allison is not a good place for that.

This isn’t to say it’s impossible to make friends in Allison, or that people who live in Allison are any less friendly or outgoing than people in other dorms. It’s just that the lack of common space means that making and keeping friends takes a lot more effort. As one friend put it, you just have to knock on every door in your boxers asking for Tabasco sauce - sometimes it’s the only way to meet people.

At this point, the only time I ever see most of my floormates is when we make uncomfortable eye contact through the bathroom mirror. And if that isn’t strange enough, consider this: To this day, I have never had a conversation with the people who live in the room next to mine. Say what you will about poorer-condition dorms like PARC and SMQ, but even they have some standard for social interaction.

In previous years though, Allison was somehow social enough to be known as “the Bobb of the south.” But after the summer renovation, Allison became the Bizarro Bobb — the two dorms are equal opposites. Each building is the largest on its respective side of campus, and both are known for their central locations and diverse residents. But where Bobb is dirty, Allison is clean. Where Bobb is loud, Allison is quiet. Where Bobb is characterized by drunken memories and room-hopping, Allison is all about taking shelter in the comfort of your own domain.

If you dream of spending your freshman year in a hotel, by all means apply to live in Allison - everyone else probably will, too. Just remember to be careful what you wish for, and don’t be shy about asking for Tabasco.

The Best Decision I Never Made: How Allison Shaped my Freshman Year

by Caroline Koppel

Before I got to Northwestern, I was told that Allison was the Bobb of the South. People said that if I was going to live on South Campus, I had to live in Allison and that the kids in Allison are very social, but theater-oriented. I ended up requesting to live in all different dorms that were up north and was originally upset when I found out I was placed in Allison. Allison is famous for being the nicest dorm on campus, having been renovated in the summer of 2011. The rooms in Allison are bigger than those of most dorms up north, and the closet space can fit as much clothing as anybody could ever need (trust me, I have a lot).

It does take a little bit of effort, though, for residents of Allison to venture up north to the frat parties. However, being close to Evanston is a much better perk and much more important. When winter comes around, South Campus residents are happy that they have downtown Evanston at their fingertips and aren’t forced to eat in Sargent everyday.

It may be a long walk to the frat quad, but for girls who go Greek it is extremely convenient to be so close to the sorority quads, especially during rush breaks when all you want to do is lie down in your bed and take a nap.

Although every dining hall will seem bad when you eat every meal there for an entire year, Allison’s dining hall is one of the best on campus. If you are Jewish and observe the laws of kashrut, it is nice to live in Allison because they have a kosher food stand where students are able to eat kosher food and also sit with all their friends.

I had a unique experience in Allison because I lived on the first floor which is an all girls floor (known as the virgin vault). Depending on the people and the year, this group of girls can become very close and sometimes even annoyingly cliquey. Typically people meet some of their closest friends on their floor, but living with all girls was an interesting experience that I was hesitant about at first. I was nervous that living on an all-girls floor, I would have trouble making guy friends, but I actually grew to liking the “virgin vault.” I feel comfortable walking around my floor in my towel, with a facemask on, or doing anything else that I would have found embarrassing if a boy had seen me. While living in the “virgin vault” has some benefits, it was definitely much harder to meet kids in Allison from other floors. I felt secluded on the first floor because I thought that, in a way, other Allisonites are less friendly.

I also found it difficult to make friends Fall Quarter who were living up north. When you live south and your classes are south, you typically only see other South Campus people, and they are the ones to become your friends. Allison, in my opinion, is a combination of a beautiful facility, great food and nice people. All in all, I am happy that even though I did not choose it, I ended up living here.

Don't PARC here for your freshman year

by Susie Neilson

Upperclassmen often say that the freshman year residence hall is the most diverse experience they've had in college. Students take classes, join clubs and spend their next three years living with like-minded people, so the first-year living experience is likely the closest to random most people will ever get.

That randomness is how freshman living should be. It’s one of the reasons I’m not a huge fan of the themed residential college idea. In fact, neither is Morty. The system tends to attract a small number of deeply-interested individuals and then drag a bunch of other people into a small dorm with a random theme they don’t care about.

Lest this sound like a total condemnation of the system, I’ll offer a disclaimer: A lot of people love their res colleges and there are a few provide a consistently positive freshman experience. Willard is great, and North by Northwestern was started in the cozy halls of CRC.

However, it’s been my personal experience with the Public Affairs Residential College (PARC) that – unless one makes a concerted effort to attend the events – the residential college experience has very little to do with its theme. Because most people do not choose to live in PARC, it’s more a random assortment of people than a group of “Public Affairs” people. Since PARC is small and un-renovated with a theme around which few of its residents rally (although some certainly do), I would not recommend putting it as a first or second choice.

I love and hate many things about PARC. The things I love, including the people I live with, the suite-style living, and the South Campus location, are not unique to the facility. I’d suggest various other places before PARC if you’re interested in any of those amenities. Of course, Northwestern isn’t known for dorm quality.

Many of the things I dislike about living in PARC, including the pungent smells, the (sometimes accurate) reputation for social awkwardness and the poor facilities (we had mice before Winter Break) are also not indigenous to the building and in fact characterize many of the dorms on campus. And college living, as you either already know or will soon find out, is far more contingent upon the people with which one lives than how nice the lighting is.

Some people claim that living in small res colleges like PARC kill one’s social life. Fortunately, this has not been the case for my friends and me. It can be harder to mingle with fellow freshmen, however, so I’d recommend getting out of the dorm by joining clubs with a social focus or hanging out with people in the larger residence halls. It’s a good way to diversify friend groups. In fact, many of the most socially successful and active students I know live (or lived) in PARC and were motivated by its small size and apparent isolation to find friendships outside of the dorm.

Additionally, I’d advise freshmen in PARC to bond with their suitemates. It’s always fun to come back to PARC after a long night of studying or drinking, sprawl out in the suite and chat. Especially this year, PARC has been a hidden fountain of high-quality people and I wouldn’t give many of them up for a clean, well-lit place in Allison.

That being said, I am not living in PARC again as a sophomore. Nor would I have chosen it as a freshman if I had to do it over again.

PARC's location and community make it worthwhile

by Tessa D'Agosta

PARC was actually my first choice when it came to housing. Apparently, I got in very easily because PARC is hardly ever anyone’s first choice. It’s small. It’s a bit rundown. It’s nothing fancy. At all. But it is, in my opinion, in the most perfect location on campus. Being a journalism major, I spend nearly all my time on South Campus. It’s close to all my classes and about as close as you can get to downtown Evanston, which is a very big advantage when it comes to grocery shopping. It’s about as far as you can get on campus from the frat quads, and yet it’s still an easy shuttle ride/walk away. The location doesn’t deter residents from going out.

PARC is a small dorm, with just over 110 residents. Because of this, it is a tightly-knit community. You get to know just about everyone on at least some level. All you have to do is spend some time in the first floor TV lounge and friends will come to you. PARC is also suite-style living, which I love. Suites give you an instant group to mesh with and get to know when you first arrive. They give you people to ask for homework help and people to go to parties with. When I broke my foot during Wildcat Welcome, PARC was probably the best place to live with suitemates helping me left and right and other people in PARC ready to assist me.

Sometimes the small community life of PARC can be frustrating. If there are people that get on your nerves, they’re never far away and it’s hard to distance yourself. There is also a lot of gossip in PARC.

As a residential college, there are many perks. One night every week we get munchies, which can be anything from Andy’s frozen custard to deep-dish pizza to Buffalo Wild Wings. PARC has fellows, which are professors who sponsor events within PARC and are always willing to chat about academics, movies, etc. and take us out for a meal around Evanston. It’s a great way to network. There are always things to do with fellow PARCers, like ice skating at Millennium Park, a trip to Wrigley, making blankets in the lounge for the elderly or just watching D. Rose humiliate LeBron together.

I think that the PARC community finds a way to bond over its crappy living conditions. It brings us closer together. What PARC lacks in facilities, it makes up for in camaraderie. You might just find yourself a faithful sidekick who is always willing to go downstairs to play pool at 3 a.m. or someone who will buy the suite pizza after partying.

If you major in journalism or other liberal arts and know that you will be spending a lot of time on South Campus, if you want to be close to downtown Evanston or if you just want to live somewhere where you can get to know people quickly and easily and probably keep those friends for years to come, PARC is a great place.

Good location. Mediocre facilities. No community

by Sam Yi

In my experience, ISRC is both far from the being the worst or the best place to live on campus.

I did list it in my top five, but I did not write an application, and from what I gather, a lot of people were placed here who wanted to be elsewhere. I liked it because it is in the perfect location for someone interested in anything other than math, science or engineering. ISRC is located right in the middle of Kresge, Harris and University which is where most non-engineering classes are. All of my classes are less than a minute away. Also, coming from a small private school in New York City, I felt it would be a good transition, to live in a smaller community within the larger university.

The problem with residential colleges in general is that as freshman we are all looking forward to meeting different kinds of people, and living in a dorm with a certain theme limits the kinds of people you are going to live with, who tend to become your everyday companions. The worst blow is that the community in ISRC isn't really that tight anyway, so you don't get the exposure to diversity of thought or the promised sense of safety usually found in a smaller community.

In terms of facilities, it's not bad. The rooms aren't huge, the beds don't loft, and the laundry is two flights of stairs below ground. If someone could only figure out how to unite the dorm and create a more unified atmosphere, though, it would definitely be worth it to live there.

All in all, I still would have preferred Allison or Elder – without the classic dorm properties (mainly, living with all different sorts of people), what's the point of living in a dorm?

Live here for the location, and nothing else

by April McFadden

Residents of West Fairchild like to think of it as the better Fairchild, but how could it be the better Fairchild if no one knows where it is? The constant problem of living there is people asking, “Where is that?” Once I begin explaining by mentioning Harris, then Kresge/Crowe and then the Rock, I simply give up and say it’s on South Campus.

West Fairchild is one of NU’s most hidden dorms, although it’s literally less than a minute from most South Campus academic buildings. Too many times, I’ve woken up five minutes before a 9 a.m. class and made it just in the nick of time. Of course this makes residents lazy, but it means that this is the perfect place for people who oversleep.

In addition to being super close to classes, West Fairchild is very close to downtown Evanston, where food and late night runs to CVS and 7-Eleven beckon. Going off campus is a trip if you live on North Campus, so West Fairchild’s location is definitely alluring in that respect. The Norris University Center and the library are only three minutes away. Living in West Fairchild means there are really no complaints about getting anywhere, unless it’s the 15-minute walk to North Campus on Sheridan.

West Fairchild is a small residential college, so everyone knows each other and each other’s business. So while the community in the dorm is pretty close-knit, it is frustrating when it comes to privacy, because the walls are thin and the kids can be nosy—but this varies from year to year. I’m not going to lie, most NU kids are socially odd and West Fairchild has a high concentration of social oddballs. For example, the bathrooms face the suites and someone almost always sees you enter and exit in your towel and shower cap. The hallways are filled with awkward conversations and moments that make even the weirdest kid cringe.

Physically, the rooms are tiny and it takes strategic placement of the dorm furniture to make it seem spacious. Make sure you bring one of those multi-bulb lamps, because the lack of overhead lighting is horrid on an overcast day and at night. One plus is air conditioning, which not many dorms have. I’ve had the great fortune of having clean suitemates, so the bathroom has never been obscenely dirty like in most dorms. You share a shower and two sinks and toilets with no more than six people, which is not many.

Someone once told me if you do college right you’re never in your room except to sleep. Whether or not you enjoy the environment totally depends on what you want out of your college experience. If you want a place that is safe for studying and good for a break from the hustle and bustle of Northwestern life, West Fairchild is good for you. If you would like to be actively involved in campus social life and better dorm furniture, West Fairchild isn't for you. West Fairchild isn’t an ideal first choice for a dorm, but living there isn’t horrible.

I lived here for a year, so it must exist

by Megan Suckut

At the mention of CRC, most respond, "What's a CRC?"

Indeed, most people on campus don't know of the gem of a residential college conveniently located between Sheridan Road and Fisk and Crowe Halls. But that's okay. For residents of CRC, people living in their suite or just down the hall become some of their best friends on campus.

CRC, short for Communications Residential College, is home to primarily Medill and RTVF students, with the occasional Weinberg or McCormick student thrown into the mix. Students living in CRC are characterized by their interests in media, television, films and pop culture.

Although CRCers tend to represent the Nerdwestern stereotype in their obsessions for cult movies and television, it usually doesn't show. CRCers are quite social, partly because the majority of them find common interests, and partly because of the dynamic suite system that encourages studying and chilling on the couches together.

I was first attracted to CRC because of my journalism major and because of the facilities, including screening rooms, a TV room, a radio room and more. In all honesty, the facilities aren't the nicest, and some of the rooms (including the darkroom) are out of commission, but the experience is mostly the warm, accepting people who inhabit these facilities.

I often hear complaints from students living in other dorms that there is no community where they live, but that's definitely not the case for CRC. Residents participate in bonding events such as the mysterious and annually-feared Panquake, the 50-hour Radiothon and several smaller events throughout the year.

The people do indeed make the experience in CRC, and students return for the community aspect. Within the cinderblock walls and smaller-than-average rooms live students (mostly freshmen and sophomores) who like to have fun, whether it comes in the form of putting on a movie to watch in a screening room, having mini dance parties or trolling the listserv.

Residents tend to become really close with a small group of people, mostly those who hang out in the same suite they live in, but with activities like Radiothon (which most residents cite as the point when they bonded with the res college as a whole), everybody seems comfortable with everybody.

If asked in the first week of living in CRC whether I would return to live there the next year, I probably would have said no. But it was when I met my best friends shortly after that the outdated furniture and cinderblock walls became home. CRC is the kind of place where you'll meet people who will change your life. For that reason I choose not to move to an aesthetically nicer dorm (like Allison or Sargent). Those dorms may look nice, but they aren't CRC.

My college family lives in CRC, and although most wouldn't say it's a glamorous place, you tend to find your home beautiful. And so when I return in September, I will return to my beautiful home at Northwestern.

Like Zooey Deschanel, but better

by Cameron Albert-Deitch

Ah, CRC.

Let’s start by being honest. Northwestern’s Communications Residential College (also known as East Fairchild) is as quirky as Zooey Deschanel. This, of course, means that there are excellent reasons both to live there and not to. Just like any dorm, it has its pros and cons.

We’ll save the best for last, so let's start with the cons. CRC is not one of the more glamorous dorms on campus. The facilities are nothing compared to a new dorm like Allison, the rooms are definitely on the small side and the furniture looks like it hasn’t been changed since the '70s or '80s (because, in fact, it hasn’t).

Now, here are the pros – and in my opinion, the good far outweighs the bad for CRC. First, the location is fantastic, especially for any Journalism, RTVF or Theater major. Really, anybody who has most of their classes on South Campus will love the location of CRC. But anyone in those majors will enjoy the fact that CRC is the closest dorm to Fisk/Locy, McTrib, Kresge/Crowe and the Theater and Interpretation Center.

Yes, CRC is a smaller dorm. However, contrary to some of the larger dorms – where you have a wider network for making friends but have no way of predicting what the people will be like – CRC is a residential college. That means you’ll be living with people who theoretically share your interests. Bam, instant friendships!

I like to define CRC’s community as one of “cool nerds” – smart kids who do anything from sports to speech/debate to standup comedy. It’s a very tight-knit community that is also very accepting, something which is fairly rare. Last year’s CRC president described the dorm as a big family, which is apt. In any case, I’m firmly of the (only slightly biased) opinion that the most awesome kids on campus live in CRC.

So there you have it. It’s the trade-off of a great community versus great amenities. If you want to live somewhere fancy, CRC isn’t the dorm for you. But if you want to have a lot of fun living with awesome people, look no further than the Communications Residential College.

Living with a lack of luxury

by Rafi Letzter

1835 Hinman is right for anyone who wants a social dorm, but is not necessarily looking for a party atmosphere. This year, many of the freshmen and sophomores on my floor painted up for the first home football game — one of the first times we hung out as a group — and then (after a Burger King break) on a whim stripped down to our underwear and leapt into the freezing lake to wash it all off. Major floor bonding. For us, that was how we made a lot of our closest friends on campus.

In terms of day-to-day socializing, people gather in the lounges, which are spaced evenly along the hallways. During the week, there will always be a group to do homework with and another group watching a movie or playing bananagrams if you want to slack off. This is a huge part of the culture here, and contributes to a sense of floor-wide community that I don’t see in a lot of the other dorms.

Another great thing about Hinman is the dining hall on the first floor. If you get to know the people in your hall, you’ll always have someone to sit with when you get down there. Hinman, along with Sargent and Plex, is open on the weekends, so you never have to walk anywhere else for food (this is great in the winter).

Location-wise, Hinman is great if you’re a journalism or theater major because it’s one of the closest dorms to Fisk, the McCormick Tribune Center, and the Theater and Interpretation center. However, if you’re studying science or engineering or want to spend lots of time at fraternity houses, expect to do some walking. Being on South Campus also means we’re close to downtown Evanston, Whole Foods, Burger King and the Davis El stop, but far from a lot of the North Campus party scene.

If I could change anything about Hinman, it would be the bathrooms. For some reason, each suite (really just a section of hallway) only gets two toilets and two showers — there are no urinals. The showers are usually enough, but having 12 people use two toilets over the weekend (when they don’t get cleaned) can get kind of gross. There’s also something growing on the side of the stalls in some of the mens’ bathrooms that we choose not to think too deeply about. Still, it’s not like any dorm has really clean facilities (unless you live in an Allison or Foster single and have a private bath), so this is a minor point. The flip side is there’s almost never any vomit. Take that, Bobb-McCulloch.

Some people complain about the room sizes as well. Compared to some of the other dorms, these rooms are pretty tiny — the singles are basically large closets — but I never feel like I don’t have enough room. For the money, Hinman is a pretty good deal — it falls somewhere in the middle-cost range.

Living the suite life

by Priya Krishnamakur

There are certainly things about 1835 Hinman that make it seem less than ideal: The elevator only works during move-in/move-out, the rooms are much smaller than average and – if you’re majoring in anything that’s not a liberal art – chances are you’ll have to walk about half a mile to at least two of your classes. However, if these seem like big enough deterrents to keep you away from Hinman, I would advise you to think again.

Purely logistically speaking, Hinman, located about as south of South Campus as you can possibly be, actually has a pretty great location. It’s close to downtown Evanston, making Winter Quarter CVS shampoo runs a little less daunting. If you’re a journalism major, chances are you’ll be able to see your classrooms from your window. They’re that close. It’s also one of the closest dorms to Norris, Kresge Hall and University Library. Also, I cannot overemphasize how convenient it is to have a dining hall and C-Store in your building. While Hinman may not have the greatest food selection on campus (I’m pretty sure that award goes to Allison), there’s nothing more satisfying than shuffling down to get brunch in the middle of January in shorts and flip-flops while your miserable peers are forced to face the great outdoors in the pursuit of food.

Socially, however, Hinman is kind of a wild card – the dorm is set up suite-style, meaning that there are eight people to one suite centered around a common room and bathroom. Hopefully, you’ll be living with fun, social people who recognize that, while Hinman is about a mile away from the frat quads, it’s still possible to have fun down south. (A note on the walk up north: It’s really not that bad! And once you master the campus loop bus route, the distance is pretty negligible. Yes, it’s annoying, but if you’re determined enough, you’ll make it up there.) The suite-style setup makes floor bonding incredibly easy and almost unavoidable, and the availability of the many lounges on each floor almost makes up for the tiny rooms. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet some amazing people and form incredible friendships. If you’re unlucky, you’ll meet someone who pees not in the toilet, but on the bathroom floor – just for funsies. Unfortunately, I have met both kinds of people. Fortunately, the latter only brought my floor closer – it’s amazing what a common enemy can do.

From the outside perspective, Hinman is a pretty unassuming dorm, making it easy to dismiss. However, it has the potential to help foster strong friendships and a sense of community that other dorms may lack.

Bobb: A mixed blessing

by Meghana Puri

Bobb-McCulloch definitely has a reputation as a party dorm, and with good reason, given that it's located in the middle of the fraternity quad. The administration has recently tried to reform the ‘party dorm’ reputation of Bobb through renovations and other measures such as trying to select a diverse group of freshmen to live there. However, this has had a limited effect and Bobb remains loud and often messy. Nevertheless, living in Bobb definitely has its advantages.

Recent renovations have improved the general look of Bobb, but mysteriously awful smells, disgusting bathrooms and overturned trashcans are still a problem, especially on weekends. Bobb can definitely get loud, especially if you’re in a freshman hallway.

Nevertheless, Bobb does have its upsides. The rooms are decently sized and the facilities are usually well kept by the hard-working cleaning staff. Bobb's reputation as one of the most social dorms on campus is also well-earned, and it’s usually not difficult to make friends as a freshman in Bobb, particularly if you’re interested in Greek life or if you're an athlete. Living in Bobb is certainly not a requirement for Greek life, though — many people in other dorms go Greek, and a number of people in Bobb choose not to.

Still, freshmen not interested in Greek life usually have a harder time settling down and finding friends (especially once Winter Quarter rushing comes around), and I’ve known at least three who moved out. Freshmen either tend to have all their friends in Bobb or all their friends outside of Bobb.

Bobb also has an excellent location, as it’s very close to Tech (most science and math classes), Sargent (dining hall) and SPAC (gym). It’s also close to the Lakefill and North Beach, but isn’t too far north, so South Campus classes and the Norris Student Center are only slightly over a 10 minute walk away. As a non-science or math major whose classes are usually not in Tech, I’ve still found living in Bobb extremely convenient.

It is easier to live in Bobb as a sophomore – I have to worry less about making friends. The sophomore hallways are also generally neater and quieter, and have the larger "connector" rooms (oversized rooms found in the hallway connecting the Bobb and McCulloch sides of the dorm). It’s quiet enough to study in my room when I need to, except rarely on weekend nights.

The sophomore experience in Bobb is definitely different than the freshman experience in Bobb. For sophomores, it’s a convenient dorm up North that offers the opportunity to have a larger room than usual. For most freshmen it’s an exceedingly social dorm that’s often not very clean but makes up for it in other ways.

Overall, Bobb is not always clean or fragrant, but is social and quite well-situated. It’s definitely recommended if you are interested in Greek life, and it’s not a bad place to be as a freshman.

Why I love my dorm

by Lizzie Kreitman

I love Bobb. It was my first choice dorm, and I was ecstatic when I got in. I wanted to go out/be social and Bobb seemed like the place to do that. And it most certainly is: There are always people ready to party. But, almost more importantly, there are always people staying in and doing homework in the lounge, watching a movie in their room or just shooting the shit. The dorm is social in that people love going out, and it’s right next door to the fraternity quad, but it’s also social because people just like hanging out with each other. People in Bobb act like a kind of family. The dorm has a definite reputation around campus for being social, and current and past Bobb residents can bond over living in “the number one party dorm in the nation.”

What separates Bobb from other social dorms on campus is love of the game. Everyone in Bobb is here because they want to be. It’s hard to walk past the fraternities and not itch to go out. I love the energy and the excitement of living so close to nightlife, and I love that everyone has so much fun — it’s a great place to start college. You’ll be sure to make the best friends you could have living here, but don’t be worried (or overwhelmed), and don’t listen to the exaggerations out there: If you don’t want to go out every night, no one is forcing you. I remember when I looked at previous housing guides, Bobb was described as a haven for “screaming girls in heels and throw up everywhere.” After living here for almost nine months, I think I can safely say that Bobb does not have any more throw up or screaming girls than any other dorm.

With all that said, Bobb isn't a great place if you’re looking for something nice. It’s livable, of course, but it’s not pretty. Each room is standard and the bathrooms can get kind of nasty, but I didn’t come to college expecting a five-star hotel. I figured the dorms wouldn’t be nice, and I can usually handle whatever Bobb throws at us. College is the time for you to learn how to take short showers and kill ants with cleaning supplies. Bobb will definitely teach you that and more.

I couldn’t imagine my freshman year without Bobb. I’ve met so many of my best friends and made so many of my best memories here. I love my dorm and everyone who lives there with me. I love going out, and I love being close to the frats, but I also love how easy it is to just sit around and watch a movie. Have to stay in and study? No problem: There are close to 500 people in Bobb, so odds are that someone else is in your class and needs to study too. Sure, it might get loud in the lounges, but that’s just a testament to how social the dorm is. If you need absolute quiet, go to your room and lock the door or head to the library. If you’re looking for a fun place and good friends, Bobb is the place to be.

A home within a home

by Cheyenne Blount

Though Interfaith Hall is housed within 1835 Hinman, it is very much a separate entity. Living in a residential hall (rather than a residential college) may be hard for some freshman, as there are not as many resident bonding activities. That is why I am so happy that I was placed in Interfaith Hall. I guess you can say I get the best of both worlds: a diverse, large residence hall with a dining hall, and a small tight knit community.

I was one of the many people who never applied to live in Interfaith, but was placed there anyways. But I am very glad I was! I found myself treasuring the community so much that I became an exec member of Interfaith Hall Government. Why do I love this living-learning community so much? Five reasons:

1. You get weekly Hinman munchies as well as separate Interfaith Hall munchies. 'Nuff said.
2. We hold several completely OPTIONAL events and talks (mostly within the hall but sometimes outside). We also plan dinners and fun outings to Chicago.
3. You will belong to a community early on. You can identify as an Interfaither, even before joining any student groups.
4. You get access to a lot of different resources not normal to residents of halls. Interfaith introduced me to student groups and professors that I now take religion classes with. Before, I had no interest in exploring different faiths at all, but now I am pursuing a minor in religion.
5. Because of the social events and bonding activities, you become very close with your fellow Interfaithers. This is a must for wherever you live. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with these people and you’re going to want amiable relationships with them. This year, I’ve built friendships with students who I think I’ll be close with for a very long time. Again, this camaraderie is not something you can get from living in a simple residence hall.

Even if you’re not interested in diverse religions, there is absolutely no commitment at all attached to living here. If anything, live here for the people. They will definitely be welcoming, open and tolerant. We had residents from several different ethnicities, religions, countries and sexualities. It was probably the most diverse on campus for such a small 50-person community.

I think the only reason I somewhat enjoyed living in Hinman was because I lived in Interfaith Hall. The community we held brightened the dismal 5th floor. If I had lived on one of the other four floors, where that community definitely does not exist (it’s like a ghost town), then I probably would have lost my mind. I recommend it to any incoming freshman. If it requires a short housing application, don’t take the questions too seriously. I can guarantee you that Interfaith is starved for interested applicants, and you’re in even if you copy and paste a Wikipedia article in the answer spaces.

An eye-opening, tolerant and tight-knit community

by Andrew Dain

When I found out I was living in Interfaith I was devastated. I’m not religious at all. I went to church once and I felt awkward the entire time. In fact, religion kind of scares me. If starting college in a new place with thousands of new people isn’t nerve-racking enough, I was terrified that I was going to be stuck with a bunch of religious nutjobs trying to convert me to their scary cult.

I soon found out that the only “cult” I would be joining in Interfaith Hall was an insanely close group of friends that would help define my freshman year. It turns out that the “faith” in Interfaith is completely optional. Religious events and discussions are never mandatory, and (even though I only went to a few) they are really interesting and eye opening. During discussions, residents talk about religion and how it affects their lives. I was skeptical of these at first, but it’s cool to hear so many different perspectives and experiences. Plus there’s usually free food!

Although the purpose of Interfaith is to promote religious tolerance, I think the most important thing it does is foster a supportive community. Because Interfaith is such a small community (about 50 residents), literally everyone knows everyone. It’s even smaller and more tight-knit than other res colleges like Shepard or Willard where there are hundreds of people on multiple floors. Interfaithers are often seen eating together in the dining hall, taking trips to Chicago and hanging out in Interfaith lounges.

Another important aspect of Interfaith is tolerance. Not only tolerance of religion, but of different backgrounds and perspectives. Interfaith Hall is a very diverse dorm, with people from many different backgrounds. Coming from a small town that is 97 percent white and Catholic (Wikipedia can vouch for me), this diversity was a really cool experience for me. Residents have a wide variety of majors, and most people are social and friendly. Interfaithers spend a lot of time in hall lounges, but it’s usually quiet enough for studying and sleeping.

This year, Interfaith was housed on the top floor of 1835 Hinman. The open suite style living was awesome, and really helped encourage a social environment with lots of bonding. The elevator was never available for Hinman residents, which was annoying because we lived on the FIFTH floor but having a dining hall in Hinman was really convenient. As far as location goes, Hinman is very south but is only a short walk from downtown Evanston.

Living in Interfaith is like living in any other dorm—people stay up late, go out to parties and order wings way too much. The only difference is that the diverse, accepting and tolerant atmosphere of Interfaith encourages some really interesting discussions that allow for a much more intense level of bonding.

Although I will not be living in Interfaith next year, three of my four roommates that I am going to room with lived in Interfaith with me. A large group of residents have decided to live in Interfaith again, and I’m sure that I’ll be visiting often.