Ninth in a series of stories detailing housing options available to Boston University students for the 2004-05 academic year.
Of the many residences on the Boston University campus, no two dormitories better represent the generation gap of university buildings than Shelton and Danielsen halls.
Danielsen offers students a cozy yet dilapidated living space, while Shelton offers a newer, yet more conventional appeal.
As two of the university’s easternmost residence halls, one of the biggest perks of both is their scenic location near the city.
But Danielsen and Shelton’s strength is a double-edged sword. While students said they enjoy living near the city, at 512 Beacon St. and 91 Bay State Road respectively, the two are a long walk to the Boston University campus.
Shelton, the larger and the closer to campus of the two residences, houses approximately 420 students. Shelton is a co-educational dormitory and former Sheraton Hotel, boasting amenities such as a dining hall, laundry room, music room, pool table, fitness room, air conditioning and private bathrooms.
“As an old hotel, there is a lot of history and charm to this building,” Shelton Hall Director Rebekah Freeman said.
Shelton resident and College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Brittany Jordan said the building’s larger rooms are especially charming and relatively clean.
“The rooms are pretty nice and big,” she said. “And the staff is very friendly – if you ever have any problems they are very eager to help fix things.”
But Shelton’s dining hall is known by College of Communication sophomore Andrew Schechter as “the worst dining hall on campus,” though it still has some perks.
“The dining hall is definitely not the best on campus, but there generally are not as long of lines as there are at most other locations on campus,” he said.
While the food at Shelton may be weak, Danielsen Hall lacks a dining hall entirely. But it makes up for that in other areas, Danielsen Director Pauline Gauthier said.
“Even though we don’t have a dining hall, we have a kitchen downstairs in the basement which makes a really nice community here,” Danielsen Hall Director Pauline Gauthier said.
In addition to the communal kitchen, a shuttle bus service offers free rides every half hour to central and west campus.
“The walk to Myles Dining Hall for dinner and campus in general isn’t that bad – it can only be a hassle if you have to go to campus and back a couple times a day,” School of Education junior Brian Hodges said.
In addition to the commute to a dinning hall and campus, several Danielsen residents complained that the building suffers from dilapidation as well.
“Everything is broken,” College of Communication junior Jesse Goldberg said. “Our shower didn’t work for half of the year, all the windows are drafty and the administrative staff is not very cooperative.”
But even though Danielsen may not be as well kept up as Shelton, it has its share of advantages.
Currently, Danielsen is the only residence hall on campus that offers its residents cable.
“The reason I live at Danielsen is because of the cable,” School of Management student Chris Galati said.
Danielsen also has large rooms, ping-pong and pool tables, a laundry room and both shared and private bathrooms.
Both locations, which house mostly sophomores and juniors, are less social than primarily freshman locations like Warren Towers and West Campus. But Jordan said that is not a problem.
“I like that Shelton is small and there is not much going on,” Jordan said. “If you want a social atmosphere, you can go out and easily find places.”
While some enjoy the quiet atmosphere, Hodges said he would prefer Shelton and Danielsen to have a less “closed door” policy.
“There really isn’t much of a community [at Danielsen],” he said.
But Freeman said the residences are quiet because the students choose to make it that way, an aspect that can change from year to year.
“It depends on the people living here. If they want to be social, it will be social,” Freeman said. “If they don’t, it won’t. A building itself isn’t social – it’s the people in it.”