The Completely Unofficial 08-09 Chicago Dorm Guide

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
102

<p>I think that's how it works. FYI, basically everybody votes for co-ed. At Pierce, it's less awkward to be able to use the bathroom down the hall than to have to go downstairs to use one.</p>

<p>I read that article with some sympathy and some suspicion (I'll often repost op-eds I like here, even if they are critical; this one didn't seem that carefully examined and was idealistic). A few things:</p>

<p>--Chicago does guarantee housing all 4 years. That's an unusual feat in itself.
-- We couldn't physically cluster the dorms due to our urban campus. Most non-urban schools have residential quads, and the closest thing we have is Max P. Bartlett quad, the grassy square right outside of Max P, works well as a social center, though. Last Saturday afternoon, Bartlett quad was all about frisbee and girls in bikinis... it looked like a scene from any college in the nation.
-- One person's "isolation" is another person's "close-knit community." I think the support you get in housing is indispensable as a first-year.... once you move up in the ranks and make friends inside and outside the house, an apartment just makes a little more sense.</p>

103

<p>There is a piano in Broadview, turns out.</p>

104

<p>bump! i need helping deciding about the food, which is better bartlett or bj?</p>

105

<p>Bartlett, totally. </p>

<p>I believe this is widely recognized.</p>

106

<p>I live in the beej. I'm pleased with food in the beej.
The food in the bartlett is "better", but you don't get to decide your portion sizes - your food is shoveled for you. You also can't go back for more as many times as you want at bartlett without paying each time. At the beej, it's a one-swipe stuff your face as much as you want fest (this includes the ice cream bar and desserts).
With the new dorm being completed right behind beej next year, I'm willing to bet beej's food will be upgraded.</p>

107

<p>I think there are actually two pianos in broadview, one near the kitchen area and one in the basement.</p>

108

<p>I don't know about BJ's menu being improved in the future, but starting next year there will be a new meal plan for most students in Bartlett which will resemble buffet-style swipe-and-eat-until-your-stomach's-distended dining more closely. Someone else who actually knows about this can comment, I guess. But yeah, my vote for Bartlett stands.</p>

109

<p>Oy. I'm reading Chicago's guide to the College Housing System right now, and it says, "We make room and roommate assignments without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or other factors prohibited by law."</p>

<p>Chicago doesn't make roommate assignments with regard to gender? So not only are most of the floors in all the buildings coed, but so are the (non-single) rooms? Haha, not telling my parents about that one.</p>

110

<p>The University is beginning to offer gender-neutral housing options for students that request them. For next year, this option is not available to first-year students, so no worries... you won't randomly get a differently-gendered roommate (but, if this is something any of you want, sorry... it is not something you will be able to request until you are an upperclassman). This just means that upperclass students who would like to live with a person of the opposite sex in a room intended for more than one person will be allowed to do so. Also, all previously-assigned single sex floors in dormitories will remain so- you will always have the ability to live on a floor that is only women or only men in certain dorms.</p>

111

<p>can someone comment on the differences between the houses at shoreland, especially vibe and social characteristics. Are they all pretty much the same or do they each have slightly different personalities? What's it like having all those houses in one building? Is there less house spirit because of all the other students in the building? ect.</p>

<p>thanks</p>

112

<p>
[quote]
Chicago doesn't make roommate assignments with regard to gender?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I think you are reading "sex" where the University means "gender." What's the distinction, you ask? The University will by default put you with somebody who is of the same biological sex of you, but they will not necessarily match you with somebody who expresses that same gender. For example, we have some students who identify as transgender or genderqueer, meaning that they do not feel like the sex they have been biologically assigned. If you are a male, the University is promising to put you with a biological male, but might not place you with a gendered male. Get it? Kind of?</p>

<p>Also, what we are kind of calling "open housing" (also gender-neutral housing) does not guarantee you will be placed with somebody of a different sex or gender. It's an option that exists to make more people feel comfortable. The way I like to explain open housing is by making a comparison to vegetarians-- the dining halls have vegetarian options to appeal to non-meat-eaters and fit their needs, but it's not as if the vast majority of omnivores are affected by the vegetarians. Similarly, open housing won't interfere with the vast majority of students who feel more comfortable in a traditional single-sex setup, but for the minority of students who want open housing, it will be a terrific opportunity. </p>

<p>If you have concerns about these sorts of issues in housing, please PM me and I'll connect you to a few resources. I'm not directly involved in any of these issues but I have a lot of friends who are.</p>

113

<p>
[quote]
can someone comment on the differences between the houses at shoreland, especially vibe and social characteristics. Are they all pretty much the same or do they each have slightly different personalities? What's it like having all those houses in one building? Is there less house spirit because of all the other students in the building? ect.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The Shoreland will be taken down next year and a new dorm, similar to the Shoreland, is currently being built to replace it.</p>

<p>I don't live in the Shoreland but I have a lot of friends who do. It's a great dorm for a lot of reasons, including the large rooms, which accommodate a lot of guests for parties (the new dorm will have large rooms too), and while there's less overall house cohesion because the house divisions are pretty porous, I'm not convinced that's the worst thing in the world. The downside to being "tight-knit" is that there's a lot of potential for drama.</p>

114

<p>So I'm a U of C third year and I just got my housing situation screwed up on account of coming back from study abroad to find that my dorm (Broadview) is too full of first years and I can't get a room back. I had a crap number in the study abroad lottery so I'm getting placed in a Snell room on the third floor, the all-female floor. I don't know anything about Snell other than the Scav reputation, so I was wondering if someone could fill me in on what it's like to live there?</p>

<p>I particularly want to know about the following:</p>

<p>*Bathrooms - description of what they look like and how many there are on each floor. I'm an only child AND I've had a single room in Broadview with a private bath for two years. I'm not particularly comfortable switching it up so much. I take it toilet paper is always provided and they're cleaned. That is a plus. But what are the showers like, how private are they? That sort of thing.</p>

<p>*All-female floor - Is there a rule on male guests? One of my best friends is a guy and we have movie nights that sometimes run late. Is there a rule that says he has to be out by a certain time, like 11 pm or something like that?</p>

<p>*Fridges - I take it everybody has a fridge in their room? Is it really difficult getting it up the stairs to your room without an elevator? I'm used to an elevator. My mother won't be too happy having to drag everything up stairs now to move me in. Lol.</p>

<p>*Indoor bike storage - Is there a bike room? I have to get my bike from Broadview and bring it over.</p>

<p>*Rooms - What are the rooms like? Special features? Furniture? Size? Negative aspects?</p>

<p>Other than that, I'm somewhat excited by jumping from Broadview and its 20-minute walk to campus to suddenly living 3 minutes from Cobb. This is a big bonus, especially going into Chicago winter. I'm also MUCH nearer all my friends who are in apartments. Also a bonus.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!!</p>

115

<p>MW- yay! I live in Snell, live on the 4th floor now but was on the 3rd last year. Great place to live. </p>

<p>On your questions:</p>

<p>Bathrooms: one per floor, coed, except on the 3rd floor it's girls only. Two toilet stalls, three sinks, and two showers (one of which is a shower/bathtub hybrid- this is exclusive to the 3rd floor). It's bright yellow, cleaned regularly, and no worries on toilet paper. People are pretty respectful of the bathroom situation, so there's really no discomfort in having a public bath- while it's open to everyone, it's still very private. </p>

<p>All female floor with male guests: the only rule is that they can't use the bathroom. Otherwise, you can have a male guest for as long as you want, even overnight. </p>

<p>Fridges: most people have one in their rooms, yeah, but you have to bring your own. The stairs are a hassle during move in, but you'll only have to deal with them twice a year. If you're nice to some of the guys in the lounge I'm sure they'll help you move your heavy stuff :)</p>

<p>Bike storage: there is a bike rack in the basement of Snell, and an actual bike room in Hitchcock. There's also an outdoor bike rack outside. There's usually plenty of space to store your bike- with people on winter break now, most people have theirs inside, so you may have to wait a bit to get a spot indoors, but you'll definitely be able to put it somewhere.</p>

<p>Rooms: there are two rooms open on the 3rd floor of Snell because of move-outs, both of which are on the small side. The rooms in Snell are mainly long and skinny, with no exceptions to the available rooms. The open ones both face the quads. You'll have a bed, desk with hutch, dresser, bedside table, at least one lamp, cork board, and full length mirror attached to the door. There are walk-in closets in all rooms, usually about 1/6th (seriously... no idea why they are so big, I could put a roommate in mine if I wantd to) the size of the room itself, so you'll have plenty of storage for clothes and things. </p>

<p>Welcome to Snell! Let me know if you have any more questions, and I'll see you in January.</p>

<p>Grace</p>

116

<p>Thanks so much, Grace!! That definitely answers my questions! But now I have a few more to bounce off your answers. :-)</p>

<p>Are the shower stalls in the open in the bathroom with just a curtain, or are they little stalls behind a door, like at a hostel? I'm trying to imagine using the tub shower and how that works: is it actually enclosed privately in a room or something or do you just have to kind of reconfigure your sense of modesty?</p>

<p>Male guests: So I'm assuming my friend can just go downstairs to the men's bathroom, right? It's just obviously the girls' bathroom they can't use? I guess I was imagining that everybody has a key to the bathroom or something and guests have to hold it. But that can't be right! Lol.</p>

<p>You said the open Snell rooms are kinda small. Are we talking Pierce small, or like, on the small side compared to other rather large rooms? My previous two rooms in Broadview included one that was maybe 9' by 12' or thereabouts, and another that was much larger, about 13' by 15' or so. With all the furniture in the Snell room, it sounds like it has to be large enough to fit it all. Also, are the rooms carpeted? And are there any rules about what you can put on the walls, like tape and stuff? I have Christmas lights I like hanging. And posters of course :-)</p>

<p>Thanks again for the help!! I guess I will see you in a few weeks!</p>

<p>Michelle</p>

117

<p>Shower stalls have a curtain. The curtains are all big enough to cover the openings of the showers, so it's really rather private- there are towel hooks right next to the showers, so you can easily hop in, de-towel, and shower without anyone seeing anything.
The tub shower has a curtain in front of it as well.</p>

<p>Yeah, no keys to the bathroom or anything, so male guests can hop up (or down) the stairs to one of the co-ed bathrooms on another floor. </p>

<p>Rooms: they are bigger than the first-year Broadview singles I have seen, for the most part, and larger than a Pierce single by a little bit. They are a different shape, though (as I said before, very long, very skinny) so rearranging your furniture has a big impact on how much free space you have. Rooms are carpeted, and as long as you're nice to our awesome maintenance guy Norval, you can pretty much put anything up on your walls that you'd like (as long as you don't have to drill it in to the wall for it to stay there). </p>

<p>Grace</p>

118

<p>Hey guys, I just got the 09-10 housing guide with my acceptance letter (chyeah!!) in the mail, and I was wondering if any of you could help me out a little bit...from what I've read here and in the guide, it sounds like either S-H or BJ would be good for me, but I of course need to consult with people who have U of C community experience.</p>

<p>I'm an only child and have never had to share my room for more than a few days at a time, so I feel like a single would be the best deal for me, but at the same time, I do not want to feel isolated; I'm a fairly social person (social as in talking about stuff, not social as in partying and drinking) who simply needs a place to go to be alone at the end of the day. Thus I'm looking for a dorm with singles (Snell, BJ, etc.) that still has a decent amount of inter-room/inter-floor association. I'm psyched about Chicago, though perhaps not a complete Chicago nerd, so I want to feel connected to it at least for my first couple of years. I also want to be pretty close to the heart of campus; S-H is clearly better than BJ for that, but from what I've read, BJ, despite being south of the Midway, is still quite close to the midst of campus. Bathrooms, food arrangements, etc. are, at the moment, things I'm considering but don't consider as important as dorm interactions and ease of accessibility to campus.</p>

<p>That segues into my next question, which is basically "How safe/unsafe is south of the Midway?" Obviously I don't think U of C would put students up in a truly dangerous place, but a number of my relatives in the Chicago area swear that anything south of the Midway is bad news or close to it, and being from the more rural part of suburban Maine, I do not yet have very astute city-living skills. BJ does not appear to be very far south at all, for what it's worth. Also, how big of an annoyance (if any annoyance at all) is crossing the Midway to go to classes and whatnot, particularly after dark?</p>

<p>Sorry for the length of this post...I'm perhaps a little too excited right now about my acceptance and impending enrollment (assuming FA is fairly decent). I would deeply appreciate any insight you awesome current U of C'ers have to say about my perceptions of SH/BJ/the Midway/etc., and please feel free to correct any misconceptions I might have; I want to understand the different communities as accurately as possible.</p>

119

<p>unalove - the original post was from over a year ago. is all the information in it still relevant?</p>

120

<p>Fast, I would say not, considering that Shoreland has been replaced by a new dorm and that a new dining hall is apparently being added as well for 09-10.</p>

121

<p>Can anyone confirm if the food in Bartlett will be unlimited with one swipe? Thanks</p>