Whether you are a freshman about to live on campus for the first time, or an older student whose dorm days feel like a distant memory, there are indisputably memorable and exciting moments that come with living in the dorms.
As Chapman students, we are especially lucky when it comes to dorm life. Most of our dorms make resort hotel rooms look like jail cells, and each has its own qualities that make it unique. So let’s launch right in, and either get you excited about your freshman year, or crying a river because Henley Basement pizza is no longer a short walk away.
7. THE POOL
The pool by the dorms is obviously an excellent starting point for this list. It’s the perfect place to tan in between classes or get some homework done while you soak up the beautiful OC sun. Does the pool make our university look like a Sandals Resorts commercial? Sure! But that doesn’t stop us from laying out, dipping our feet in the water and having Chapman Radio blast music so loud, that the studying we are attempting to do, is pretty much doomed to fail.
6. OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ACTIVE
Students living in the dorms often don’t have cars, therefore are not able to drive to the nearby gyms. Thankfully, Chapman has recognized this problem and has given us two fully equipped gyms in close proximity! And if running on the treadmill is just way too basic for you, there’s always the Doti-Struppa rock-wall for you to climb. Also, with a volleyball and basketball court, the opportunities to show off your athletic skills in front of your fellow students are truly endless!
5. PROXIMITY TO OTHER DORMS
Chapman is already a pretty small school, if we are going off of size alone. While this makes getting from one class to another very easy, it also makes getting to know fellow freshman a lot simpler as well. No matter what dorm you are in, you are no more than a 3- minute walk away from a different one. So if you are in North Morlan, but your BFF is all the way over in Pralle, not to fear! You can still get to each other in time for the season finale of the Bachelor, without blinking an eye. Just don’t forget your microwave popcorn and cup of noodles!
4. THE CAF
Though Chapman students often complain about how sick they get of the food at the caf, no one can deny that we all went absolutely crazy at the beginning of freshman year. We would marvel at the vast array of food options that were laid out in front of us, taking 10-12 plates on an average trip around the room (or maybe that was just the football players). American, Chinese, or Italian, the caf offers something for every palate, no matter what cultural delicacy you prefer (although we know that the warm chocolate chip cookies are always the first things to go). Yet despite the endless amounts of food, the best part about eating in the caf is that it brings people together. It’s the perfect way to catch up with your friends who you might not have seen all day, or sit with a big group that you may never have talked to or gotten to know otherwise.
3. SOCIABILITY
The whole point of having students live on campus is so that they can get to know each other, when they are in an unfamiliar place. So while it might be easy to only talk to your roommates or next-door neighbors, it’s important to actually walk around the dorm, and make friends with whoever is around. Hangout across the hall, study together in the lounges, try not to get in trouble with your RA, whatever! The dorms are designed to be social, to be a place where freshman can interact and have fun. And if you don’t take advantage of this, know that I’m probably judging you.
2. ROOMATE/SUITEMATE BONDING
If you are lucky enough to have great roommates and suitemates your freshman year, don’t just take this lightly. Really value those friendships, because these people have seen you at your worst, and have decided to be friends with you anyways. Your roommates are pretty much always around, so why not try to have some fun together. Grab dinner in the circle, make a couple hundred Disneyland trips, get ready to go out, whatever you feel like. Of course roommates can simply stay roommates, but they can also turn into your best friends, whom you can’t imagine your life without, and this is something you truly have the dorms to thank for!
1. HENLEY BASEMENT PIZZA
As previously mentioned, this is the final and obviously best part about living in the dorms. It is the delicious, culinary masterpiece that comes from Doy’s Place, which makes all other late night food options pale in comparison. Whether it’s cheese or pepperoni, it hardly matters. All you know is that any bad night can be turned around with that saucy first bite.
So even though you might have a roommate who never looks up from his laptop, a vent-mate who you can perfectly hear rapping along to Kendrick Lamar at 4 a.m., or you have to deal with the ridiculously small showers in North Morlan, which can make anyone claustrophobic, try not to focus on the negatives, but rather on the positives of your freshman year.
I cried for hours (always the drama queen), when I found out I was living in NoMo, the oldest and smallest dorm. But as time went by, I came to love my dorm for exactly what it was, and ended up having the most incredible freshman year I could ever ask for (the bunnies in the quad definitely helped!). I looked back and laughed at the fact that I ever wanted to live anywhere else.
All in all, just know that living on campus is an experience you will likely never get again, so try to make the most of it, no matter what dorm you are in.
