<p>I'm a head CA (roughly equivalent to an RA) here at Northwestern... anyone have any questions? If anyone has dorm/area-specific questions, I should be able to help with those, as well. I lived in Shepard (south campus) my freshman year, CCS (north campus) as a CA (I spent a LOT of time in CCI and Slivka for rounds and hanging out and such), and next year I'll be one of the senior CAs of the Willard area (willard, nmq, smq, rogers house, hobart house, chapin, etc).</p>
<p>I'll try to remember to check back here more often ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for offering to take questions! D will be in Hobart house---are the beds bunked? what type of storage baskets/boxes are best? Floor and/or desk lamps needed for extra light? Do the hallway doors have posterboards for notes or do we supply our own? Are there private storage units in bathrooms, or do we need to carry it from our rooms? Thank you for your advice and guidance....a mom</p>
<p>This may seem like a random question, but I will be living in Elder next year and was wondering if the desks have holes or something similar to that in them to wrap around a laptop lock. Thanks</p>
<p>Same here. Is there much theft in the dorms, generally speaking? I'm wondering if I should bring a couple of things that I really want to have but they'd be easy to walk out with. </p>
<p>Do the room doors lock automatically when you walk out? </p>
<p>Do you need a key or a code to get into the dorm itself?</p>
<p>dbc07: for bobb, yeah the desks have this space between the back and the desk part, so i just thread by laptop lock through that, worked out fine.</p>
<p>wintersilk: in my experience, no. but just be smart. lock your door when you leave and when you sleep, because i have heard of things disappearing from ppls desk in the middle of the night or random people entering rooms. the room doors don't automatically lock when you walk out.</p>
<p>you have, usually, 2-3 keys (differs depending on the dorm). a marlock lets you into the lobby of the dorm. that one, or a separate one, lets you into your suite and/or floor, and a final one lets you into your room.</p>
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Do the room doors lock automatically when you walk out?</p>
<p>Do you need a key or a code to get into the dorm itself?
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<p>Varies from dorm to dorm. In Willard, half the doors have an auto-lock feature that you can turn on where the doors lock right away, but if they are only locked via this method you can "card in" using a small CTA card/credit card/etc. So, this makes it somewhat of a security risk, but is helpful if you get locked out but happen to have your wallet with you. Or, you can deadbolt them and be safe. Other doors only have the deadbolt option.</p>
<p>for slivka, all doors entering the dorm, main stairwell, and suites self lock. you have to personally lock your room (ie no lockouts unless your room mate decides to do it)</p>
<p>beds are usually unbunked--I'll check hobart tomorrow to make sure, though.</p>
<p>As for Willard... they're replacing the locking mechanisms this year (i believe before move-in day), so it won't be as simple as "carding" into the rooms anymore, if I understood correctly.</p>
<p>As stated before, theft usually isn't a problem if you're smart about what you do. Make an agreement with your roommate (you'll make a roommate agreement anyway) that you'll lock the doors every time you leave, and that you'll keep the door closed & locked while sleeping.</p>
<p>the best type of storage compartments are those that fit under a bed. $10 is a good investment to get those 6-inch plastic bed risers; it really helps in a double room where the beds are unbunked. </p>
<p>floor lamps are usually unnecessary, but a desk lamp or two is often helpful. again, i'll go check hobart tomorrow and see what i can tell about the lighting conditions.</p>
<p>buy a small whiteboard and pen for your door so people can write messages. One is enough between two roommates; I'd suggest collaborating on certain items that you'll only need one of in a room (i.e. refrigerator, printer, white board, etc.)---have one roommate bring some, the other roommate bring the others--decide who's going to pay for what. Have your daughter facebook her roommate and have them talk it out; it'll be good practice for roommate decisions later on.</p>
<p>Bathrooms usually don't have "storage compartments"; again, i'll check hobart tomorrow to make sure, but usually a shower caddy is a worthwhile investment.</p>
<p>Sunkenship-- there's usually some place to wrap around your laptop lock in a room. Not all desks have a little hole, but most have some sort of way to keep your laptop secure with a basic lock. It's usually not so much the breakability as the deterrent factor, as with bike locks. All bike locks can be broken. It's not a question of whether yours can be broken. It's a question of whether your bike lock is better than the person's next to your bike.</p>
<p>Eloquence--Students are mostly quite busy. There's a HUGE amount of extracurricular activities available, all of which will be advertised during Wildcat Welcome/New Student Week. Dorm, or residence hall/residential college (as Northwestern prefers to call them) life, is pretty darn fun, if I do say so myself. There are always activities going on. Residential colleges offer dozens of events for residents, and provide faculty connections as well as cultural, educational, and social outings (and each residential college has a life of its own---they're well worth researching). Residence halls tend to be more run-of-the-mill college dorms, but CAs and hall governments will usually organize several social and educational programs throughout the quarter. Also, depending on the building, some are more social than others (in various--i.e. party vs. music vs. other clean fun---ways). Dining has lots of options, and many of the dining halls have been renovated this summer (for example, Willard's dining hall has become restaurant-style, where you place orders for food rather than standing in the traditional tray-line).</p>
<p>sunkenship---there are several businesses that offer summer storage on campus or near campus, but they charge by both the pound and volume, so they can get somewhat expensive. Many people share larger storage compartments for the summer. I'm sorry I don't know the exact costs, as I've never used them. What I always do, and what I would recommend for larger and heavier items like refridgerators, is find a friend or someone you trust who is staying in the area over the summer, and ask them to keep it for you while you're away.</p>
<p>@sunkenship, if you're curious, i'm sharing a 5x10 box at public storage on greenbay road for 117/month (including $8 insurance). I'm splitting this with 3 other people and we already have at least one bike in there (and had lots of space left over it seemed). Hope that helps</p>