The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: News

Media Credit: WAITES LASETER [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: WAITES LASETER [Click to enlarge]

Incoming freshmen - start praying now.

If you want to live in Myers Hall, a little bit of luck and divine intervention may help you land an assignment in one of the coveted central rooms, which are equipped with two large closets and lots of floor space to work with.

And for you prospective Myers students who don't rub your lucky rabbit's foot before bed every night?

You might wind up in a wing room, making do with one closet and squeezing your stuff into a smaller space.

Leah Marie Stevens, who lives in one of the smaller Myers rooms, said she loved Myers but there are some rooms that are better than others.

"The better ones are the bigger ones," said Stevens, a sophomore from Marietta. "But it's just the luck of the draw. I mean it sucks that my room's not that big, but what are you going to do?"

Abby Barnes, another Myers resident, was a little luckier. Her room - room 224 - has one of the more spacious floor plans.

"Most of the rooms in Myers are pretty big," said Barnes, a freshman from Hampton. "But the wing rooms are a little smaller. [My roommate and I] just got lucky."

Barnes said her friends are usually surprised when they see her room for the first time.

"Most people that come in here are like, 'Wow! Your room is so huge!'" Barnes said.

Shay Davis Little, director of administrative operations for University Housing, said she has gotten calls in the past from students who are disappointed with their smaller rooms. But Little said she wanted to remind students that housing contracts explicitly state that price has no relation to the square footage of the room. Instead, Housing officials determine pricing by looking at the degree of bedroom privacy, bathroom privacy and the date of the most recent renovation to the building.

"[The people who call] usually understand," Little said. "They might not agree, but they understand."

The varying room sizes in Myers reflect the architectural philosophy popular when the building was originally designed, whereas the architects designing the high-rise dorms - such as Creswell and Russell - used a standard floor plan to accommodate as many students as possible, the Myers architects probably had a more aesthetic approach in mind, Little said.

But even dorms with "cookie-cutter" floor plans have their differences - particularly in the number of work orders submitted for each room.

In Lipscomb Hall, some rooms have recorded as many as 16 work orders, but others have a better track record. Room 311, for example, has had only one maintenance request since January 2007, according to documents obtained by The Red & Black.

Despite his room's stellar performance, Erich Hein, current resident of Lipscomb 311, said he doesn't think his room is particularly problem-free.

"We just don't like to complain," said Hein, a freshman from Marietta. "I mean, the air conditioner is pretty loud, but we never wanted to do anything about it."

Also weighing in with only one work order is Lipscomb room 303, home to Jason Sedam, a freshman from Duluth.

Sedam offered one theory for the differences in the number of work orders.

"I know the fourth floor has had a lot of [maintenance] problems," Sedam said. "But it's a girls' floor, and I guess the girls are more prone to notice things like that and report them."

Although a female hall does take the prize for having the most work orders in Lipscomb Hall - the second floor had a total of 182 maintenance requests - whether or not this is a function of gender remains to be determined.

O-House can also boast its share of rooms without work orders. Since January 2008, the residents of 40 rooms in the nine-story building have survived without requesting any maintenance assistance.

Upon learning that his room was work-order free, Jim Kao thanked his suitemates, roommates and the room's prior residents.

"The people who lived here in the past must have kept it in a good condition," said Kao, a sophomore from Roswell. "Our toilet was clogged for a little while, but I guess my roommate or suitemates took care of it."

But Kao didn't put his room's amenities at the top of the list when he described his reasons for choosing O-House as a returning resident.

"It's really convenient," Kao said. "And it's cool to have a community"

Unlike freshmen, returning residents can handpick their room through Oasis when they sign up for housing. Like Kao, these students use an array of criteria to determine which room is best. They typically don't look at just the floor plan and facilities, Little said.

"If cost is not a factor and you want square footage and specific facilities and amenities, you might go with East Campus Village," Little said. "But if you want a single room with a low cost and a good location, you might choose Payne Hall, which offers single rooms for upperclassmen and is in a superb location on campus."

For the 2008-2009 school year, a single room in Payne Hall costs $2,218 per semester. At East Campus Village, an academic year contract ranges from $2,758 to $3,146 per semester.

Many returning residents vie for spots in Mary Lyndon Hall, even though the building has not had any recent renovations and the students housed there live in a more traditional, double occupancy room with a community bath, Little said. This year, a double room in Mary Lyndon - located on the Myers Quad - costs $1,995.

And for incoming freshmen?

Though they can't choose a specific room, they are allowed to list three dorm preferences when they sign up for housing.

But Keri Shealy, an incoming freshman from Dalton, said she isn't too picky when it comes to her future living arrangements.

"Everyone says that all the freshmen dorms aren't that great," said Shealy, who listed Brumby Hall as her first choice. "So I guess it doesn't really matter."

Editor's Note: The Red & Black is looking at residence halls on campus to see what issues, if any, afflict the places where students live. This ongoing series will examine problems with security, health and little quirks that crop up in daily dorm life.

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