<p>I'm a little confused about this. Why do you have to submit a separate application to live there? Is it very desirable? Why?</p>
<p>A professor lives there with his family, apparently. Is that an advantage? </p>
<p>I'd feel like Id have to watch my language and stuff in front of a scholar and his 4 year old kid! lol</p>
<p>Anyone?</p>
<p>You’ve touched upon the fact that Wall Hall is not for everyone. It’s an academically oriented dorm for very serious students. Hence, with this profile in mind, having a professor living there is considered by most a positive. Another plus is that the hall is configured in two-room, four-person suites. There is also a very strong sense of community within the hall.</p>
<p>Here’s something I posted awhile back about my experience in Wall (addressing the antisocial stigma), that might give you a good idea of the atmosphere:</p>
<p>“I live there this year and love it. I’ve seen Wall labeled on these forums as “antisocial” but that is simply not the case. The whole point of living in Wall is to get more involved with residential life on a completely unique level: everyone serves on a committee (or 3, in my case: academic development, community service, and health & wellness…there are about 3 or 4 other committees to choose from as well) and Wall has its own executive board. There are floor activities constantly (i.e. Wall 2 spaghetti dinner, Wall 4 mocktails, Wall 5 Rosh Hashanah party), and sometimes we do things off campus as a floor (my floor did Project Greenlight New Orleans for Outreach Tulane). The professors-in-residence are wonderful - Dr. Colombo teaches neuroscience at Tulane and his wife taught philosophy at Loyola…but right now she’s staying home (in Wall) with their beautiful 18-month old daughter (who attended the Wall Flunch today…see below). Anyway, I know other dorms also coordinate events and such for their occupants, but I just have to dispel the rumor that Wall isn’t social. Just because we aren’t cramped and on top of each other in tiny rooms and community bathrooms doesn’t mean we’re hermits or that we don’t get to know the people inside and outside of Wall.”</p>
<p>Anyway, I suppose it is more academically oriented than dorms like Sharp or Monroe, but I wouldn’t say that it’s “for very serious students”…you don’t even have to be in the honors program to live here, just willing to get involved. Side note: Tulane has long term plans to make every dorm a residential college in the style of Wall.</p>
<p>Yes, it is considered a desirable dorm because it was built only four years ago and has spacious rooms/suite style bathrooms. Visiting friends in both Sharp and J.L. makes me thankful for Wall (not that those other dorms aren’t nice places to live…it’s just that my roomie and I never feel cramped in Wall. We have high ceilings, a sink, a semi-private bathroom, lots of storage space, two social lounges and two study lounges right on our floor.</p>
<p>The professor-in-residence is Dr. Paul Colombo; he teaches neuroscience. His wife taught philosophy at Loyola, but she currently stays at home with their nearly 2-year old daughter. They live in the ground floor professor’s apartment (my roommate sometimes babysits for them, so I’ve been inside…it’s a super nice space!). You certainly shouldn’t curse around their daughter, but it’s not like they’re just prowling the halls all day so you definitely don’t always have to watch your language while in Wall because of that. I’ll see Dr. Colombo maybe once a day, and his wife and daughter maybe once/twice a week—taking a stroll outside, attending “Flunch” (casual lunch with Walls students and various Tulane professors; it happens every Th/F), etc.</p>
<p>I recommend watching this video if you want to learn more about Dr. Colombo’s role in Wall: [Tulane</a> University - Time Well Spent for Professor-in-Residence](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/102309_wall_professor.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/102309_wall_professor.cfm)</p>
<p>The rooms and facilities are better, mainly. Rooms are bigger, furniture is nicer, architecture is nicer, less people have puked in the halls, bathrooms are suites, laundry is on both sides of each floor, thermostat is in every suite, I don’t know what else.</p>
<p>I think another reason for having the application is that it’s intended to have a strong community, so they want to make sure that the people who live there are going to honor their commitment by being active on a committee and getting involved with events run by the Wall government or committees or professors.</p>
<p>Apparently there is some benefit of just having a professor living in the dorm, but I don’t see it. The real advantage that the Colombos give us is that they have events regularly, if you want to do that.</p>