the good, the bad, the ugly? THANKS!
First, be excited about North because most students regardless of their house reflect positively on their Commons experience.
The Good:
-North is a medium sized house of about 180, so while you won’t know all the residents in the first month, by the end of the year it is feasible for outgoing students to have interacted with all their housemates.
-It is located right near a Vandy Van (free campus shuttle) stop which is a major plus during the winter.
-It is also the closest house to main campus, meaning you can sleep that extra 1-2 minutes in the morning.
The Bad:
-It is one of the farthest dorms from Commons Center, which means a longer walk to dinner and to munchie mart at midnight if you get the late night swipe and a longer walk to breakfast in the mornings.
-The house is a renovated one on the historic section, so the layout can be quite awkward.
Up to Interpretation:
-One or two of the floors have bathrooms in all the student rooms, which is a nice change from communal bathing but can present an added area of conflict for some roommates with showering etc providing extra noise in the mornings and bathroom counter space being coveted
-The Head of House for North is known for having a very strong personality and vision for the house. He is a gay man, professor of ethnic music, and proponent of environmentally friendly practices in the dorms. While none of these are good or bad qualities, they do reflect some polarizing issues in our country and as students flock to Vanderbilt from all over the country, can provide some culture shock and polarization. His strong personalty also leaks into the personality of the house, which leads to there being many students who are drawn in and engage more with the house as he offers opportunities to engage with new thought and tough issues, but sadly results in some students that are put off and disengage with him and the house from the very beginning.
All these factors aside, the real determining factor in a house experience is the housemates you meet living there. I encourage you (or your student if you are a parent) to try your best to make friends in North and to find a community there. These will be people you are involved with all year long through House activities, so make some friends in the beginning that will keep you coming back to events all year and you will be off to a great start.
You will win commons cup, you forgot to add that as a plus.