There's something about Wahlstrom

People always rag on Wahlstrom Hall. The builing is condemned. There is asbestos in the walls, and the college doesn't have the greatest desire to do anything about it. The rooms are tiny. 10x8 if you count the space filled by the closets. It's impossible to navigate. Everything is staggered and the half floors start and stop with random stairts. I still haven't found the laundry room or the computer lab. It's all in the basement. Somewhere. Being that the building is built into a hill, another element of confusion is added, as only half the basement is inhabited. I chose not to live there. And I am glad of my first floor room. If I were in the basement, I'd still be wandering around trying to move in.

No matter how much people degrade that builing, I think it is good for some people. On moving in, I have discovered people who have chosen to live there for 3 years, or more even. The section idea, 6 rooms around a common room, works well. You have friends, you have space to live, and there is a couch outside your door to escape to and socialize with. And despite the tiny rooms, there is a greater feeling of home and welcome. Its YOUR room. And the building knows that. There's less noise. Fewer parties. Drunk people can't even find your section's stairs. Socialization occurs outside of the room. Put bluntly: The building, this old 1940's military dorm with all of its quirks, nurtures people. Its the kind of care that I search for. I should have lived there from the beginning. And since it is going to be closed and torn down after this year, I am more than grateful that I have been given this one semester to be a Walhstromite.