Fenn Tower is one of two residence hall options at the lovely commuter school that is Cleveland State University. It is a very tall building with an extensive history. It was originally the focal point of Fenn College, before Fenn College became Cleveland State University in 1964. Fenn Tower currently stands as the second tallest building on Cleveland State's campus. Most residence halls that you see at other universities are tiny buildings that aren't in the heart of downtown Cleveland. Fenn Tower is a refreshing change from the typical idea of a dorm, and living here has been an experience I'll never forget. Students who live here, including myself, have experienced good and bad situations. It's all fun and games living in a skyscraper until the elevators break and you realize that you'd pass out if you tried to walk up 15 flights of stairs. Throughout the fond memories and bad experiences, there is no other place I'd rather call home. Here are 15 things you understand if you live in (or have lived in) Fenn Tower.
1. From the minute you stepped foot into the building for the first time, you were lectured about the importance of elevator courtesy.
With only two elevators (or one, because one elevator is broken) and 438 residents, no one has the time to stop on every single floor. If someone presses the button for a floor that is within two floors of yours, you are expected to walk those two floors up or down. Unfortunately, not everyone has the courtesy to follow this unofficial law of the building, but those who break it will likely be reprimanded by an RA or a sassy college student who has no time for BS.
2. Any time you go into a building that isn't Fenn Tower, you hesitate to hit a button if it's within two numbers of the button already pressed.
Elevator courtesy isn't a thing in most buildings, but you've been so conditioned to not press seven if eight is already pressed. You forget that in the real world, you can just go straight to the floor you want and not have to make a detour on the stairs. It's okay, though -- we could all use that extra bit of cardio.
3. You either have a breathtaking view of downtown Cleveland, or you have a view of the highway and some rundown buildings.
If your room is facing west, you got lucky. You get to see beautiful views of Terminal Tower, Lake Erie, Playhouse Square, Progressive Field, and every light and skyscraper in downtown Cleveland. If your room is facing east, you don't get that privilege. You don't see the "nicer" part of downtown; you mainly just see the highway and some less impressive buildings. If you got stuck with a room facing east, you learned to make friends with someone with a better view (or just go to a lounge area and look out that window).
4. It took you at least an entire day to move in, mainly because you spent half the day waiting for an elevator.
When you pack hundreds of people and boxes of their things into a small lobby and an even smaller elevator, a normally quick process will take several hours. There's only so many carts, boxes, and families that can fit into a tiny elevator, so unless you want to walk up 10 flights of stairs, you'll be playing the waiting game.
5. In the winter or in any bad weather, the revolving door is the only option.
Everyone thinks they're strong until they try to open the door to Fenn Tower in heavy wind and snow. You're not sure if the door is abnormally heavy or you're just really weak, but either way, you struggle trying to open the door unless the weather is nice. Instead of fighting the door (and losing), it's much easier to just use the revolving door. Unfortunately, the revolving door locks around 4:00 each afternoon, so in the evening you either have to lose your battle to the door or just stay in your room.
6. The "study rooms" are rarely used for serious studying.
Many people use the study rooms as a lounge area to socialize while they do laundry. They'll bring laptops and textbooks, but there's hardly any studying that actually gets done. Some people try to study, but those people are usually just kidding themselves.
7. You know that the real "study rooms" are the classrooms on the other side of the basement.
Lucky for you, Fenn Tower is still utilized for its classrooms in the basement. They're unoccupied during the evening and are much better options for studying. They're usually quiet and private, so when the library is closed and you need a nice space to type your English paper at 1:00 in the morning, this is the place to go.
8. Whenever you're in a hurry to get to class, you'll stop on every floor on the way down.
Unfortunately, since everyone is on a similar class schedule, most residents try to leave for class at the same time. To make matters worse, many people will wait for the elevator, then get sick of waiting and leave. Nothing is more annoying than stopping on a floor with no one there to get on the elevator, but it's something you've quickly gotten used to.
9. More often than not, your shower makes extremely loud, screeching noises.
Playing music in the shower is something that many people like to do, but unfortunately, you can hardly hear your music over the shower's screeching. Also, if you like to take late or early showers, your roommates and neighbors will probably hate you for waking them up. Peaceful, relaxing showers simply don't exist in Fenn.
10. You love Fenn Shoppe, but you only seem to want something when it's closed.
Having a convenience store in your building is wonderful, but you wish it was a bit more "convenient" for you. You can buy whatever you want from there during most hours of the day, but usually don't. When it closes on nights and weekends, it suddenly becomes much more appealing. Fenn Shoppe on nights and weekends is the CSU equivalent of Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday.
11. Whenever you put in a maintenance request, you know that whatever is broken will be fixed well if Kathleen is fixing it.
Kathleen is the best maintenance person in Fenn Tower. She can fix anything and everything, and she makes all of our lives easier by fixing the many things that we break.
12. Living on a high floor is a blessing and a curse.
The top floors in Fenn arguably have the best view of downtown Cleveland. No other building on CSU's campus can give you such a breathtaking view whenever you want. However, living on a floor that high is also a pain in the ass. Walking up 18 flights of stairs is not an easy task, so even if you're in a hurry to get somewhere, you're stuck waiting for the elevator no matter how long it takes.
13. The lounge areas on the even-numbered floors are either always quiet or always packed.
Some floors are extremely social, close-knit groups. Other floors have residents that don't even acknowledge their floor-mates. If you're lucky enough, your floor will spend so much time together in the lounge that you'll want to spend all of your time there. If your floor doesn't spend much time together, at least you'll always have the lounge open as a quiet place to study.
14. Sometimes, you're not sure how you survive living in this building...
As much as we all love Fenn, this place can test our patience sometimes. Between the heat breaking on a 20 degree day and one of the elevators being broken for several weeks, you wonder how and why you're still living here. You wonder why you shell out thousands of dollars every semester to live in a poorly-heated, poorly accessible room.
15. ...but you soon realize that even though this building tests your patience, you still love your experience living here.
For many people, Fenn Tower is the first place they reside on campus. After freshman year, many people decide to move to the other residence hall, Euclid Commons, or they decide to get an apartment. Many people, however, decide to remain in Fenn for a longer period of time during their college experience. No matter how long you decide to live here, you'll never forget the memories you've made in this skyscraper-turned-dormitory. Sure, you hate the lack of elevators, poor water pressure, and lack of dining options on the weekends, but walking through downtown Cleveland and seeing that huge brick building that you've made so many memories in is sure to make you reminisce and smile.
