<p><strong><em>bump</em></strong></p>
<p>Thank you dukerose.</p>
<p>It's interesting reading this thread after a semester at Duke. I read through all the complaining about non-AC dorms, and now I actually disagree because I loved being in my non-AC dorm. </p>
<p>Everyone in our dorm congregated in the common room at the beginning of the year because it was so hot everywhere else. This was great for meeting people in the dorm at the beginning, when it is most important. Being in a non-AC dorm brought a greater sense of community that many AC dorms have less of, as people had less incentive to head down to the common room.</p>
<p>So yes, it is hot at the beginning. But there are also some positives.</p>
<p>I agree with Nineteen. When you read about a college, you tend to overestimate the importance of certain facts...in the case of Duke, I worried excessively about the lack of air conditioning in my dorm, the bus system, and the fact that only freshmen lived on East. When I came here I realized that these were actually good things about Duke, and I had gotten it all wrong. Funny how that works out. I'm not the only one who really appreciates the sense of closeness and community you get from living on little old East. I wouldn't want to live on West my freshman year. East is just the right size. It is true that some dorms are better than others, but it varies according to whom you ask. I'm glad I was placed in the dorm I'm in, but that's what everyone says.</p>
<p>I agree with the two above posters as well. Because there was no AC, everyone was in the common room and met each other, which I heard was not the case in other dorms (Belltower people on the same floor hadn't met each other a month into school). Also, I have some friends who live in AC dorms and the first few weeks they admitted to wanting to stay in their nice cool room rather than go down and meet people. Also, it's good that East Campus is only freshman, because it's a nice transition from HS.</p>
<p>Belltower seemed like a hotel to me. You can't leave your doors open (they're the heavy type that must shut), but any college student will tell you that an open-door policy is the way to meet people around you and make friends. There are common rooms on every floor in Belltower but the rooms are big and nice (and they all have AC) so you don't really feel the need to leave. Of course, Belltower is a great place to live and you should be happy if you get it, but you shouldn't be jealous of the Belltower people by any means.</p>
<p>How did you guys deal with your roomates? How are you getting along?</p>
<p>Hi! I know this thread ended like forever ago, but I was just wondering the same question as moviefreak126....do most people get along with their roomates? and overall would you say that the majority of duke students are open-minded?</p>
<p>Also, westcoastmon, could you elaborate on the Facebook way of finding a roommate? do you just ask people if they have gotten accepted to duke and then figure out whether or not they would be a good roommate for you?</p>
<p>I can't respond to the dorm issues but as far as the food is concerned what I have heard so far is that the food is actualy much better than expected. There were some negatives written after a visit for part of blue devil days or something like that last year, that apparently was caused by the school having far more prospectrive students show up then they had planned. So far I have heard very good things about the food on campus overall and I also lnow that you can order take out or just eat out at select local restaurants right off your meal plan.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that my freshman roommate and I were friends but I wouldn't say we were enemies either. We just sort of co-existed peacefully. I joined a fraternity and ended up with a single (something that is usually very hard for sophomores to do), so one thing I will say is that one doesn't need to have a roommate to have a social life.</p>
<p>I don't think you can eat out off campus on your food points. You can order delivery from select off campus restaurants on food points though.</p>
<p><strong><em>Bump</em></strong></p>
<p>^the least you could do when bumping is to ask a question so others know why a two year old topic is being bumped…</p>
<p>I don’t really have any questions, I just thought that others might be interested in reading this, thats all.</p>
<p>eh, reading over the entire thread, the title is a bit misleading, not much discussion about food at all. Also, the discussion is a bit short on facts in some places and lots of opinions being thrown around. </p>
<p>An update of things then:</p>
<p>1) Nothing much really changed on east as far as I can remember</p>
<p>2) Few quad renovations were completed on west, it’s now all spiffy and new on the inside</p>
<p>3) A new wing to Keohane quad is being built, will be completed next year I think</p>
<p>4) Central campus plans were put on hold indefinitely pending economic recovery I guess</p>
<p>All in all, nothing all that different for the first year but definitely some better options for sophomore year and beyond.</p>
<p>I read in this article in time magazine that duke’s got lots of drugs, sex, and racism. Is this true or just a stereotype?</p>
<p>I also heard that all Japanese people eat sushi, kill dolphins, and watch sumo, wonder if it’s true or just an oversimplified generalization?</p>