As housing selection week approaches, Boston University students said they have mixed opinions about living a second year in the large dormitories in central campus.
Although many Boston University students said rooms in the large’ dormitories at 575 Commonwealth Ave., The Towers and Warren Towers have a ‘prison cell’ feel, most agreed that the social environment of the area made the lackluster accommodations worthwhile.’
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Gabriel Ma, who is in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he found the atmosphere at Warren to be ‘similar to a very crowded prison.’
However, the convenient location and social environment made his experience enjoyable, Ma said.
‘Ideally, I would never leave the building if I didn’t have class,’ Ma said.’
College of Communication freshman BJ Klophaus said he hopes to move into 1019 Commonwealth Ave. next semester, but that he thoroughly enjoyed his experience in Towers.
‘It’s pretty laidback here,’ Klophaus said. ‘Initially, I wanted to live in Warren to meet people, but I found Towers to be a very social place too, even with the single-sex floors.’
Housing Director Marc Robillard said the large number of freshmen in the central campus dorms provides for a more social environment.
‘West [Campus] and Warren are about 80 percent freshmen, and as a consequence of that, it’s going to be louder, it’s going to be more social, you’re going to meet more people,’ he said. ‘Freshmen are unique in that they need their social environment.’
Warren and Towers feature dining halls, laundry rooms, study lounges and vending machines, not to mention access to RAs.
Unlike the Warren and Towers, 575 Commonwealth Ave., which is also known as the HoJo, does not have a dining hall, making it less convenient for residents, some students said.
‘I would have liked HoJo more if HoJo had a dining hall,’ School of Management sophomore Soo Hyun Noh said.
But for what HoJo lacks in dining services, it makes up for in helpful staff members, Noh said. HoJo made headlines last semester when bed bugs were discovered in the building, causing more inconvenience for HoJo residents, but Noh said BU staff handled the infestion very well.
‘That situation was a mess,’ Noh said. ‘It made me not want to live there anymore, but the Office of Residence Life responded well to the incident.’
Most students agreed that all three dormitories could use improvements to dorm rooms and dining halls.
‘My aunt said Towers looked like a prison cell,’ College of Engineering freshman Scott Kim said. ‘The food wasn’t great either, so if they improve on something, it should be the food and the look.’
Robillard said the east tower in Towers underwent an ‘extreme makeover’ last year, which included new furniture and repairs to the lighting, walls and wiring.
‘I’d like to do that for the west tower and Warren Towers,’ he said.
However, because of the construction freeze President Robert Brown implemented in October, Robillard said he does not foresee these renovations taking place soon as much as he wishes they would.
‘I think everyone is in agreement these buildings have served very well,’ he said. ‘Most of our freshmen live in these buildings. It’s important that everyone gets that experience.’
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