Community Case Study: Students

“Dorming is what separates high school from college. You miss out on so much if you don’t dorm.” (McGuire) A student needs a place for sleeping, eating, doing homework, and a bathroom facility. Students need to feel secure in their space. Students also need a space for privacy away from public areas. “Most students find that the biggest hurdle they face in their first college dorm life experience is homesickness” (McGuire). Fortunately students transition into living with others who share the same fears. Since most students live within small cramped dorms or apartments (Singleton, Garvey, Phillips) student’s needs for private individualized space must be attained more so through implied order rather than the physical order of doors and walls. This idea of private space also relates to the individual’s separation from other’s individual spaces.

Narrow hallways create a “prison” atmosphere that each apartment/dorm room is “another unit” where as wider hallways separate the rooms creating a "homier" private atmosphere. “My Sister’s House” may be referenced as the large well-lit hallways grant a healthy separation to each of the rooms. Narrow hallways provide a sense that one is living on top of his/her neighbor. Student’s individuality and emotional wellbeing is overlooked when spaces are made up of one dominant surrounding type. Students will often decorate sterile whitewashed walls and floors (MacWilliams, Bryon) so that they may display personality. A disconnect is created between the student’s ties to nature and “outside thinking” when the space they inhabit provides no visual stimulation.

Students are stimulated however in their resourcefulness to manage small spaces. Student abilities in relation to the other case study groups are in their education and physical strength as well. Students are resourceful in making use of small spaces and few amenities. College students’ resourcefulness extends to their abilities to adapt to their surroundings and limitations of their residence. Dorms are often turned into multiuse spaces in that beds and desks are used for dining, studying and entertainment. “We don’t pay attention to deficiencies… we don’t think about what we have, we simply have it… it’s a typical communal apartment… it’s part of the Russian soul” (MacWilliams, Bryon). According to the above-mentioned article, there is one bathroom facility to three floors of students. What students have isn’t what is in their dorm, but what they have with each other.

Social interactions within apartments/dorms are usually limited to the hallways and communal areas within the main structure. When these structures have a vertical emphasis there are less rooms and residents to each floor compared to a horizontal structure. More residents per floor provides more opportunity for resident interaction. Unless there be some important function most students will not venture to other floors for social interaction, but rather stay on their own floor. When there is a higher ratio of floors to residents a disconnect is created between the residents of each floor.

“In contrast to the 60’s, when many students avoided dormitories, which they regarded as one more institutional symbol, this generation has sparked a tremendous resurgence of interest in campus life,” (McGuire). The student’s residence and its relation to the greater campus must feed this interest in campus life. Loneliness and boredom can lead to depression when there are no constructive activities for students (McGuire). Professors Singleton, Garvey, and Phillips write that most colleges and universities do not have an intellectual community as most students’ extracurricular activities are coupled with alcohol consumption. They write that professor’s offices should be located on the bottom floors of dorms and student centers so that professors and students have more regular interaction fostering camaraderie and respect. Community rooms need specific function to bring on social interaction. Rooms should relate to human scale. Community room visibility is key to bringing on social interaction so that outside parties are brought into the social atmosphere. Community rooms should be placed in frequently visited locations of the building. Community rooms should also be located along main entrances so that residents can comfortably interact with and be seen by other residents.

Different backgrounds, languages, and cultures must be taken into account when creating environments. The community environment is an opportunity to create a melting pot among the different people. Spaces must be designed so that one particular culture is not predominately displayed. One culture’s dominance can create indifference among the people within the residence and possibly work against interactions. Student intermixing with other cultures (immigrants) and older generations (elderly) will receive wisdom and a greater life experience for neighborly hospitality and interaction.

Citations

McGuire, Jeff. "College Dorm Life." College View (2010): n. pag. Web. 19 Feb 2010. .

Singleton, Garvey Royce, and Phillips Robert . "onnecting the academic and social lives of students.." College of the Holy Cross. 30.3 (1998): 1-8. Print.

MacWilliams, , and Bryon. "Dorm Life at a Russian University: Shabby for Some, Posh for Others.." Chronicle of Higher Education 46.38 (2000): 60-62. Web. 18 Feb 2010.