<p>Hi, I recently requested to live in Butler just because I thought it was better to request a dorm than not to. My concern is that Butler is not a very social dorm. In college I am looking to work very hard but I also want to have a great social life, can I still get this while living in Butler? If any current Tulane students have any advice, do you think I should keep my request for Butler or change my request to Sharpe or Monroe?</p>
<p>My only problem with Butler is that the building and rooms themselves are fairly unpleasant. I'd opp for Sharp over Butler, but if you want social, Wall would be a good choice.</p>
<p>really i have gotten the impression that wall would be the more academic dorm...what about butler is unpleasant?</p>
<p>My friends at Wall hate the fact that they don't know anyone else at Wall. The most social would have to be Sharp or Monroe. Butler itself is not that bad at all, I live here currently. The assumption that Butler is not social is largely fueled by the observance of a small population of Butler that is antisocial. In my experience, a large amount of us are rather outgoing and sociable.</p>
<p>Oh, Butler is definitely social. I've just never been impressed with the upkeep and the floor plan.</p>
<p>So what is nicer Sharpe or Monroe? Maybe I will change my request</p>
<p>I'm in Sharp and I love it, though everyone else says it's crappy.</p>
<p>However, isn't Sharp being shut down next year? I don't know if it's going down for the year or if they're simply renovating it (in which case, I'd certainly choose Sharp).</p>
<p>As for Butler, I'm hardly ever over there (only to play poker with Vin occassionally :p) and I think the rooms themselves are nicer, but, as kraemer said, the way it's designed confuses and angers me.
Wall feels too much like a hotel for my taste, Sharp and Monroe are dorms. Stereotypical college dorms. If you want the true crappy-as-hell dorm experience, go Sharp or Monroe.</p>
<p>Actually, the rooms in Monroe are really pretty nice. They were renovated not all that long ago. One nice feature is that they have brick on the walls separating one room from the next. My son really loves his dorm room. He did his Katrina semester at a large state university and thinks these dorms are awesome. He doesn't love the bathrooms though :)</p>
<p>the true crappy-as-hell dorm experience? Sounds good to me. Sharpe is my first choice followed by Monroe. How social are the dorms? Are you able to party in your room without too much trouble?</p>
<p>Well to be honest, I was never a fan of longer hall dorms with a bathroom at the other end. I was at one of those last semester. I like the fact that our lounge and bathroom is in the middle of the floor allowing you to get there easily from wherever you are. Otherwise, the only other real drawback is the fact that the floors are single sex. It really isn't too much of a problem though because girls from the 5th 7th and 3rd floor are usually up here anyway. That or we are down there.</p>
<p>No offense to the other dorms, but I think the main draw of living at Butler is the fact that on the whole, people here are smarter than your usual bunch. I don't really know how to explain how this would be such a large advantage, but it was kind of important to me to live with similar minded people. In other words, I really like living in Butler.</p>
<p>That reminds me, are you staying for lagniappe Ecliptica? If so we should get another couple games going.</p>
<p>i was thinking about putting down butler as well, but i have one question about it. is everyone in butler in the honors program, or are other people who just want to be in butler there as well??</p>
<p>Son says he has "no idea" if everyone in Butler is honors. Whatever that means. But probably means no one really cares, which might be what you want to hear. I had heard (but can't verify) that Honors kids didn't fill it up so that others are there as well. </p>
<p>I know he loves it there, has a lot of fun, even though he is a serious student, too. Great location - roll out of bed and to Bruff (tho others are close, too, right?) Butler also has the brick side walls.</p>
<p>I'm almost certain that Butler [this year] is strictly honors students, but I guess Vin can verify that.</p>
<p>
[quote]
No offense to the other dorms, but I think the main draw of living at Butler is the fact that on the whole, people here are smarter than your usual bunch. I don't really know how to explain how this would be such a large advantage, but it was kind of important to me to live with similar minded people. In other words, I really like living in Butler.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is very true, but also the reason why I like my dorm, too. Sharp is where they decided to stick the athletes this year, so my roommate and I are on the track team and then the entire freshman baseball squad is with us, too.</p>
<p>
[quote]
That reminds me, are you staying for lagniappe Ecliptica? If so we should get another couple games going.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'll be here, and I'm always up for a game.</p>
<p>butler has never been strictly honors. People that do apply usually get in because honors kids don't fill up the dorm. For example, we have 5 singles on the floor that should be doubles, and we had 3 empty rooms also. You can live in Butler if you want to.</p>
<p>(This started on another thread that genius, me, thought was still active. It was, last year. ;-) )</p>
<p>Vin said: "butler has never been strictly honors. People that do apply usually get in because honors kids don't fill up the dorm."</p>
<p>This has not been true for 2 years and again this year we will have ONLY Honors students in Butler House. We will have an 80/20 split between freshmen/sophomores next year, but they will all be H students. The reason there have been some empties, etc. is because of room shuffling after move in. For the last three years we have filled up with only H students. </p>
<p>Now, I suppose I should hedge my bets since I do not know how many H students we will have coming in as freshmen this year, but the principle will remain. If the demographics shift considerably we may consider moving to an application process such as Wall has. But I hope not. </p>
<p>As for "nastiness" Butler kitchens and lounges are not great, to say the least. I have been assured that we will be able to get them redone this summer. Money is always a concern, even in the best of times, but I am confident that this summer we WILL get them completed and renovated. </p>
<p>The downstairs lounge was redone last winter and was looking great. Thanks to Katrina it was redone AGAIN and is looking even better! </p>
<p>Oh, and this coming year I will also be the faculty mentor so we will have additional Butler House activities and programming (such as Pierce Butler's Birthday party! Hooyah! ;-) )</p>
<p>I hope I have not broken any rules by posting directly myself, but do feel free to contact me if you have any more questions or see the blog for more info. </p>
<p>Yours,</p>
<p>Cb</p>
<p>--
cbrady @ tulanehonors.org
cbrady @ tulane.edu</p>
<p>Christian M M Brady, D.Phil.
Director, Honors Program
Assoc. Prof., Classical & Jewish Studies
Tulane University
<a href="http://www.tulane.edu/%7Ehonors/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tulane.edu/~honors/</a>
<a href="http://tulanehonors.blogspot.com/%5B/url%5D">http://tulanehonors.blogspot.com/</a>
504-865-5517
AIM: drcbrady</p>
<p>Uh-oh, now I'm afraid to post on here because I feel like I'm being watched. ;)</p>
<p>No see, that is what I was worried about! Please, carry on as if I am not here. Talk amongst yourselves. :-) </p>
<p>(Seriously, I just want to offer my opinion when it might help, not stifle someone else's.)</p>
<p>im in the same boat as ecliptica haha. Otherwise, what Dr brady says is right, the downstairs lounge, ever since the brand new plasma tv and pool table got put in has had a lot more traffic now. Sometimes we end up watching movies downstairs and random people join us. It feels much more like a community now. It is too bad the kitchens won't be updated while I live here, but the lounges aren't that bad really. We spend a lot of time on the top floor lounge.</p>
<p>BTW the pool table that was bought this spring isn't as good as the one that was destroyed in the flood BUT HRL has agreed to replace it so we will have a new, better table by the fall!</p>
<p>I live in Butler and like it. A lot of people actually like the layout because all the rooms are in a circle instead of a long line so everyone meets everyone. I know everyone on my hall. We're very social, I promise. The kitchens aren't functioning, but really once you get here, it doesn't matter because no one uses them anyway. There is generally less of a "puke in the bathroom" factor than other dorms too.</p>