178 Living in the Dorms

Ethan Offutt

My name is Ethan Offutt and I am from Atlanta, Georgia. I came to the University of Pikeville to be able to play football for them because I was offered a scholarship. When I came for my visit I was not able to see inside of the dorms so I did not be able to know what the dorms were like. So there were a lot of unexpected things, such as the crammed laundry room and the small rooms. But there are a lot of positives about the from as well, like the friends you are able to make. My project is surveying current freshman boys living in the dorms and how they like or do not like it and what should be expected. I also interviewed a senior boy who lived in the same dorms about his experience and advice in the dorm. Along with that, I am going to put recommendations in here that the student handbook does not have available for you about residence life.

Survey One: Freshman Survey

 

  1. Bryan
  • ○ What was one thing you did not expect once you moved into the dorm?
    1. I thought the rooms would be pretty decent space-wise.
  • ○ What is one thing you did expect once you moved in?
    1. I thought the food would be good since we pay for a meal plan
  • ○ What is one thing you like and dislike about the dorms?
    1. I think the lounge is a pretty cool addition to the dorms, but the food is not the best.
  • ○ What is one piece of advice you would give incoming freshmen about the dorms?
    1. Make sure you know who your roommate is or at least talk to your roommate before moving in so it is not awkward
  1. Caleb
  • ○ What was one thing you did not expect once you moved into the dorm?
    1. I did not expect the showers to be dirty
  • ○ What is one thing you did expect once you moved in?
    1. I expected the Wifi to be good
  • ○ What is one thing you like and dislike about the dorms?
    1. I like the lounge feature of the dorms but don’t like the food
  • ○ What is one piece of advice you would give incoming freshmen about the dorms?
    1. Make sure you bring plenty of snacks and water
  1. Jonathen
  • ○ What was one thing you did not expect once you moved into the dorm?
    1. I did not expect my room to be so small
  • ○ What is one thing you did expect once you moved in?
    1. I expected the Wifi to be bad
  • ○ What is one thing you like and dislike about the dorms?
    1. I like the lounge downstairs, but I don’t like how the showers are dirty
  • ○ What is one piece of advice you would give incoming freshmen about the dorms?
    1. Make sure you get a good Wifi extender, and always set a timer for your laundry

 

  1. Breon
  • ○ What was one thing you did not expect once you moved into the dorm?
    1. I did not expect my room to be so small, I thought all of the rooms would be the same size
  • ○ What is one thing you did expect once you moved in?
    1. I expected us to get good food on the first week
  • ○ What is one thing you like and dislike about the dorms?
    1. I like the lounge area but I dislike the food from the cafeteria
  • ○ What is one piece of advice you would give incoming freshmen about the dorms?
    1. Make sure you bring some spending money

Survey 2: Senior survey about freshman year

  1. Zaniel
  • ○ What was one thing you did not expect once you moved into the freshmen dorm?
    1. I did not expect how small the rooms were
  • ○ What is one thing you did expect once you moved into the freshmen dorms?
    1. I expected to have a small bed
  • ○ What is one thing you like and dislike about the freshmen dorms?
    1. I did not really like anything about it but I did not like how outdated the downs were
  • ○ What is one piece of advice you would give incoming freshmen about their dorms?
    1. Try and get a room to yourself

Student Handbook

  • Laundry- In the Student Handbook, it speaks about being responsible for your own laundry, including towels, bed sheets/linens, and leaving your laundry in the washer/dryer for too long. This is al very true you do need to be responsible for your own laundry because it will become very old for other residents when they have to wait all day long just for one washer to open up for their laundry to be clean. So always set a timer for your laundry, and be courteous when it comes to how long you let your laundry sit there, keep in mind, you are not the only person in the dorm hall, so you are not the only one who needs to wash their laundry
  • Candles- Although the University prohibits candles inside of the dorm because it can set off the smoke detectors, febreeze is allowed and is a very important thing to have inside of your dorm room. You may decide you want to eat some meals inside of your dorm, febreeze is a great option to get rid of that sour smell of food, or even the smell of sweat from you and your roommate.
  • Showers- One thing the University does not talk about in the Student Handbook is the community showers, which you do have in the freshman dorms. The community showers mean everyone on your floor uses the showers and they are not cleaned very often by the custodians/janitors. This means shower shoes will be your best friend when you go to shower. Shower shoes are just basic rubber slides without the cushion or cloth or rubber flip-flops. This is a necessity in a community shower environment because you will be stepping on everyone’s filth in the shower.
  • Make friends- The most important part about your dorm experience will be making friends in the dorm. Making friends in your dorm will make your life a lot easier and you won’t be as bored when you make friends. You will be able to not sit inside of your dorm all day long as if you were in jail, you can go hang out in their dorms, listen to music, play videogames, and just hang out with one another and have a good time.

 

 

 

Essay

Overall, dorm life at the Univerity of Pikeville is not all that bad, especially when you are fully prepared coming into the dorms. When you klnow what to expect when you move into the dorms, it makes life a lot easier for you and your family. Moving into the dorms make sure you fully know your roommate and how they are and if you are able to manage living in a small room with them. Make sure you know how they live, if they are a slob or if they are very neat and have some OCD. Also, make sure you can get along with one another, because that is a major part of dorm life, if you and your roommate are able to get along. But also you have to make sure you are able to make some good friends, that way you aren’t stuck inside of your room the whole time and you get bored. Making friends inside of your dorm is always great, you are able to make memories that will last a lifetime with each other and they may end up being your lifelong friends. Along with all of that you have to make sure you have the basic necessities for your dorm life. You want to make sure you have shower shoes for when you go to shower, you want to make sure you have memory foam for your bed, and you also want to make sure you set a timer for your laundry because of how many people use the washers and dryers in the laundry room. If you make sure you are able to do all of that, the negatives will seem to disappear and you will have some of the best times in your life.

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Living in the Dorms Copyright © by Ethan Offutt. All Rights Reserved.

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