With my first year at Lehigh University coming to an end, I'm realizing that I only have a few more weeks to enjoy my luxurious freshman housing in Lower Cents. Although I have made some great memories in Lower Cents, the dorm itself will not be missed. My experience with freshman housing at Lehigh has been exactly what I expected (and dreaded), complete with tiny rooms, smelly floors, too many bugs, and broken toilets and washing machines. As I was reminiscing on my housing experience this past year, and on everything I have heard about and seen in friends' dorms, I thought it appropriate to celebrate the Lehigh class of 2020's last weeks of freshman housing with some housing awards. These awards celebrate the good, the bad and the 'meh' of freshmen housing at Lehigh.

The Loudest Dorm: Lower Cents

One of the first things that I noticed about living in Lower Cents is that you can hear everything. The walls of these buildings are paper thin, and it is incredibly annoying. I can literally hear people talking outside at a relatively normal volume even when I'm in my room on the third floor with the window closed. One time I was in my room in Beardslee and I could hear a friend of mine singing from her room in Williams. It's also a popular shortcut for getting to and from East 5th on weekends, so I can always expect to be woken up by hoards of intoxicated people. And what makes all of this worse is that Lower Cents is built in a way that encourages social gatherings, so when it's warmer out there is almost always a group of people yelling and playing volleyball while blasting music. There is obviously nothing wrong with being loud and having a good time, but I just wish Lower Cents was built in a more sound-proof way.

The 'Coolest': McClintic-Marshall House

M&M is quite literally the coolest freshman dorm on Lehigh, being the only dorm that has air conditioning in every single room. During the hot weeks at the beginning and end of the year, freshmen in M&M mock us from the comfort of their air-conditioned rooms while we stick our faces in front of our window fans, desperate to be as cool as they are.

The Biggest Calves: Dravo

You might just be able to spot a resident of Dravo with a quick examination of their calves, as they will likely be a decent amount larger than the calves of other freshmen. Those who live in Dravo need to hike up more stairs than anyone else on the daily, and those of us who don't have mad respect for them.

The Biggest Rooms: Richards

Although residents of Dravo may have the biggest calves, residents of Richards have something even better: the biggest rooms. A double in Richards is 15'2' x 14'2", which is pretty large compared to 16' x 10'6" in the Centennials or 13'2" x 12'8" in Dravo. Having space can make your housing experience so much better, and residents of Richards can attest to that.

The Most Convenient: Lower Cents

By far the best thing about Lower Cents is the convenience of its location. It's the dorm that requires one to go up the least amount of hill or stairs, and it is closest to most academic buildings. It's also pretty close to East Fifth, and a thirty-second walk from Hillside Ave. And although the stairs up to Rathbone aren't fun, it only takes about a minute to get food from Lower Cents.

Most Average: Upper Cents

When I say that Upper Cents is the most average, I don't really mean it in a bad way. Upper Cents has a good balance of the good and bad aspects of the Lehigh freshman dorms. It requires one to climb more than Lower Cents, but far less than Dravo. It also has some of the best lounges out of all of the freshmen dorms, with large, quiet study rooms, huge kitchens, ping pong tables, and more. But it is also pretty ugly with small rooms and thin walls, so overall, it's pretty average.

Most Confusing Building: M&M

M&M doesn't look like it has a complicated layout from the outside, but the inside of it feels like a maze. It's not quite a Chandler-Ullmann level maze, but it's still pretty bad.

Most Beautiful: Dravo

This picture says it all.

The Ugliest: Lower Cents

This picture also says it all. Upper Cents is a close second, but it is slightly less ugly as it has more foliage and less sketchy houses around it.

Least Hungry: Upper Cents

SEE ALSO: The Dining Halls Of Lehigh, From Best To… Not Best

Those who live in Upper Cents have no excuse not to eat, because they literally just have to cross the street to get to Rathbone. It's not the best food, but it satisfies our freshmen college needs.