This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring next year’s housing options for Boston University students.
Private bathrooms, air conditioning and carpeted floors are all features students living in the 575 Commonwealth Ave. dormitories brag about, while students in The Towers gave high marks to the dormitory’s basement dining hall. Both dorms are located around the School of Management building.
‘As far as dorms go, I consider this one of the best ones,’ said College of Arts and Sciences freshman Mike Maitta and resident of 575 Commonwealth Ave., more commonly referred to as the ‘HoJo.’
But Maitta said he also likes the building’s location, one block away from Kenmore Square.
‘The best aspect of this place would be the location,’ Maitta said. ‘It’s right by Kenmore Square, the clubs, the bars they’re all right there.’
Maitta said he enjoyed living in the ‘HoJo,’ calling it one of the better dormitories on campus because its amenities represent a compromise between BU’s extremes of residence conditions.
‘If you want to live in a dorm, I’d say this is the best one,’ Maitta said. ‘It’s like a happy medium between a dorm-like Warren, where sometimes the people make lots of noise, but it’s not quite as quiet as a Bay State Road type of thing.’
Matthew Oliveira, a College of Fine Arts sophomore, also said the ‘HoJo’ is the best dorm because of its location and privacy.
‘I think as far as dorms go, it’s definitely the best dorm because of the location, because it’s close to all the major schools and because of the privacy,’ Oliveira said.
While many in the ‘HoJo’ agreed the best aspect included the private bathrooms and the air conditioning, there was disagreement over the quality of the rooms’ sizes.
Though Kelly Faller, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore, said her and her roommates were crammed in their room, Maitta said he has been comfortable in his three-person room.
‘They’re not incredibly big, but we found room for a couch,’ Maitta said. ‘It’s pretty comfortable for a dorm room. It’s a triple, but we don’t feel crowded or anything.’
Ric Santora, a CAS freshman said he liked the size of his room enough to stay there next year.
‘Compared to all the other dorms I’ve seen,’ Santora said, ‘I … definitely like having this much room. I definitely have enough room here, it doesn’t bother me at all.’
Despite all of perks, ‘HoJo’ residents complained about the lack of its own dining hall, poor insulation and lack of proximity to schools on the west side of campus. There are also cracks in many of the ceilings and leaky bathtubs in many of the rooms, residents said.
SMG students also flock to the building’s ground floor 24-hour common room, residents said, much to the chagrin of Raina Dimmitt, a CAS freshman.
Though ‘HoJo’ does not have its own dining room, the students there can eat at the dining hall in the neighboring Towers.
The Towers, composed of two nine-story towers, is known primarily for the culinary expertise of its lunch burrito maker Jose Luis, residents said.
The fact that there is a dining hall in Towers is a highlight for many of its residents.
‘There’s a dining hall here,’ Erika Palo, a CAS freshman said. ‘It offers a place where everyone in the same dorm can socialize with each other.’
The rooms in Towers, like the ‘HoJo’ rooms, also received mixed reviews from its residents, though the majority felt the rooms were a bit on the cramped side.
Lauren Masterson, a SAR freshman, thought the rooms do not have enough room, while Palo said she thought the rooms are a decent size.
Palo also said the west tower was the better of the two because it gets better television reception.
‘My roommate picked a room on this side of The Towers because this tower gets good reception,’ Palo said.
The Towers is valued as one of the better campus dorms for freshman mainly because it offers a more social atmosphere than the relatively quiet ‘HoJo,’ residents said.
However, the air conditioning and private bathrooms of the ‘HoJo’ are a few of the amenities that make it attractive for sophomores choosing to spend their second year in large dormitory style housing.
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