At Washington & Jefferson College, there are a lot of housing options to choose from. We have everything from party central Bica-Ross, New Res, and Frat Row to Victorian styled Whitworth, Wade, and Pen. Then, there is President's Row. Open only to Upperclassmen (except this year one building is dedicated to Freshman, or so the rumor goes), President's Row houses a large population of the students on campus. With 10 buildings making up President's Row all named after Presidents of the United States (Adams, Washington, Filmore, Monroe, etc) you would expect them to be as wonderful as their names imply. Which they are pretty cool buildings, I love the brick on the outside of the buildings and the rooms are a decent size (if you live in a single or a triple). But, these buildings come with some daily struggles. I mean, who's building doesn't though?
1. The Tiny Door Knobs
The entrance to every building in President's Row is plagued with this tiny metal nub that calls itself a door knob. This silver atrocity is about 1 inch in diameter and is almost impossible to grab the first time while you are carrying a G&T's to go container and a drink back to your room to eat in peace. You almost always end up dropping something: your swipe, phone, keys, drink, or food. (RIP tomato soup 2015).
2. Communal Bathrooms
As Freshman, we came to accept the fact that we had to share a bathroom with our floor or our suite. We made friends that way (don't make it weird) and we weren't responsible for cleaning them. Now, President's Row communal bathrooms aren't that bad because you are only sharing with one side of the floor which is only 4 rooms. The only thing is that we are all Upperclassmen. We have our schedules down to a science by this point, like Sheldon Cooper levels of routine. When it is your time to shower and someone is in there showering already it completely throws off your groove. Also, no one likes brushing their teeth when someone is in the stall 3 feet away from you.
3. Laundry
I am pretty sure that everyone in my building decides to do laundry on the same day every week. We will inevitably have a line of laundry baskets waiting to be washed. Then, one person will forget that they are doing their laundry and make everyone wait until they remember where all of their clothes have gone (~12-48 hours later). You are presented with two options 1) wait, 2) or be that asshole who throws the other person's laundry on the floor and puts theirs in. (advice: don't be that asshole).
4. Heating/Cooling
There is no comfortable medium no matter what time of the year it is. During the summer/early fall/spring, you have to have your A/C unit on high blowing constant ice cubes down your throat leading to the expected sore throat the next morning. During the fall/winter/early spring, you turn your heater on just the tiniest bit and your room turns into Hades. But, if you turn the heater off your room becomes the perfect temperature to house penguins (unfortunately, not the kind that play hockey). The best solution is to very slightly turn your heater on and open your windows. It's not perfect, but at least you aren't melting.
