Dorms = twilight zone..
January 30, 2007 at 1:55 am (Social)
So I’m pseudo-off campus (on campus apt’s) & enjoying living with a good friend. But today I had to spend some time in my old dorm floor.. and well.. it took longer than expected. Why? cuz everyone’s talking. I rapidly learned that while they don’t have anything better to be doing, I did, and I wasted some productive time. Another reason I like living with my friend.. we both are able to be productive. but there’s something about that dorm life.. that as one guy up there said, “living in a dorm isn’t real. something doesn’t add up.. it’s like the twilight zone.”
I fully agree. We’re all cubby-holed up into our own prison cells. There’s no relaxing, homey feel. There’s weird boundaries in place.. ppl don’t just casually stop/walk by.. if they come by, it’s to talk. So relationships are all or nothing.. not like having a friend who’s sitting on yer couch reading & doing his work.. at least then there’s someone around, a sense of “I’m not alone.” But in the dorm, ppl just don’t do homework in each other’s rooms. It’s not allowed.
eh.. a random rant too late when I should be doing logic homework.. hmm.. logic late at night.. this could get ugly!
Jim said,
January 30, 2007 at 6:32 am
Yeah, dorms are like that. Why do you think I moved off-campus for my last year at Cedarville?
isaac said,
February 1, 2007 at 1:04 am
Brilliant! That is a dead-on analysis of dorm life.
Strack said,
February 2, 2007 at 12:03 am
Great so how to do we change it?!? Do we abandon the idea, or do we infuse community into it some how? Kick that one around.
Strack said,
February 2, 2007 at 12:04 am
I agree by the way, I’ve just been in it too long. I can’t see the forest for the trees.
Jim said,
February 2, 2007 at 12:51 pm
A good starting point would be in physical design of dormitories – find a way to structure them so they feel less like prison cells and more like actual residences. In essence, give them that ‘homey’ feeling. Part of it is figuring out how to teach students to actually shut their doors, block out the noise and distractions. But from my experience, that’s harder to do than one might think – somehow the hallways always become havens for football, wrestling, ragball, etc.
ThePhantom said,
February 2, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Well in the dorm that i lived in the majority of the time, the problem was much less of one, as it was a suite setting. 8 guys four rooms, one bathroom. Most of my guys left the doors open and productivity was there, as well as good times, and family feeling. Fadingdust should know, as he lived with me for a bit in one.