Settling into a new living space is a challenge that is inherent to the experience of all college first years. But after going through the ordeal twice, the occupants of Moore and Coleman halls may be getting the hang of it.
With Maine and Winthrop undergoing renovation, students who lived in those dorms during the fall had to leave and move into the newly renovated Moore and Coleman for the spring semester. Despite a few complaints about having to pack up their rooms during finals, most students say they are pleased with their new living situation.
Students cited the spacious public study rooms as well as individual common rooms as some of the best features of the new dorms. Cam Swirka '10, who lives in Moore, said he appreciated the "huge common rooms" located at the end of each floor.
James Ecker '10 appreciated the extra living space, but said that that the bedrooms in Moore were much smaller than in Maine.
Jane Koopman '10, a Coleman resident, agreed that the bedrooms felt small compared to Winthrop, which had the same floor plan as Maine, especially because she lived in a double there.
"The two-room doubles in Winthrop had more privacy," she said.
Abbie Mitchell '10 said that there was more storage space in the doubles in Maine, while Alex Locke '10 had to send home two boxes of things that she could not fit into her new room in Moore.
Despite these concerns, students reported that they like the wide hallways in the new dorms. The north and south sides of both Maine and Winthrop halls had been divided by a bathroom that also serves as hallways between the two sides.
"The hallways are awesome," said Ingrid Alquist '10, who lives in Moore.
Bathrooms were also a plus. Caitlin Stauder '10, also in Moore, said that the new bathrooms are much cleaner, and she appreciates not having to share them with men.
Mark Bellis '10 said that because Coleman was so clean when he moved in, there is an incentive to keep it that way. Mitchell said that she appreciates being able to walk around barefoot.
Students said that initially wireless Internet and hot water did not work in Coleman, and wireless was a problem in Moore. Both problems have since been resolved.
Because the rooms in Maine and Winthrop were doubles and triples, students acquired new roommates when they moved into the quads in Moore and Coleman.
Kim Pacelli, director of residential life, said in an e-mail that students for the most part kept their same roommates and joined with another roommate pair.
"In some cases, the arithmetic worked such that we had a group of two and three (five total) moving into one room and a group of three moving into another room," she said.
"In those cases, we worked with all eight students on the floor to see if there was a natural person to switch roommates and join with the group of three," she said.
Strauder said she did not mind moving in with two new people because she lived on the same floor in Maine as her new roommates. "We were sort of living together already," she said. Alquist also said she was close with her new roommates before the move.
Along with the first-years, there are two rooms for juniors in the basement of Coleman. Knowing that Coleman and Moore were being renovated, Julia Ledewitz '08 requested to live in a freshman dorm on her return from abroad. She lives in one of the larger end-rooms with one other person.
Ledewitz said that the dorm was probably some of the nicer housing on campus, and was pleased with her placement.
"The common space is really nice," she said. "It doesn't feel like a basement."
Though appreciative of the new dorms, some students said they would have been content to stay in Maine or Winthrop.
Alyssa Phanitdasack '10 said that she missed the character of Maine, and Claire Ronan '10 said that Winthrop was homier than Coleman. Two students said they missed being on the quad. Locke said that what she missed most about Maine was the ivy.