A building comprised of sophomores, eight-mans, and the Front Desk Pilot Project: Walsh Hall on Lower Campus, home to many late nights and sophomore bonding, is a favorite and quickly-picked building during the housing process.
Eight-man suites contain two bathrooms and a common room, offering more living space for residents to enjoy. Walsh is also centrally located—with its proximity to Corcoran Commons, the Res, the B-Line, and other residence halls, residents are able to enjoy different aspects of campus life right outside their door.
Walsh Hall is on Lower Campus and composed of four- and eight-person suites. It is the least expensive option for sophomores living on Lower Campus. If someone lives in Walsh, he or she is required to buy the meal plan since only the eight-man rooms come with a kitchenette.
The proximity to other sophomores on Lower Campus helps to create the social atmosphere that Walsh is known for around campus. Along with this comes the consequences of late nights every weekend, whether you are involved or not, due to the combination of loud music and thin walls.
According to many of Walsh’s sophomore residents, the partying can be somewhat of a double-edged sword, with its social perks but also obvious drawbacks. Life in Walsh can be, as a consequence, a tightrope act between these.
The atmosphere of having sophomores all around and a lively social scene has contributed to the installment of the Walsh Front Desk Pilot Project, where Walsh is the only building on campus that has front-desk security and police during the weekends. Residents of Walsh need to swipe in non-residents during the weekends, while any sophomores can access the building from 7 a.m. to midnight.
The housing process seems to bring out the worst in people—sophomores usually have to sacrifice friendships and scramble to put together a group of eight to secure a spot on Lower.
College Road (CoRo) houses sophomores in doubles, traditional triples, and traditional quads. There are three buildings that make up College Road: Roncalli, Welch, and Williams. CoRo is generally picked—or assigned—later in the housing process, but there are many benefits that students tend to overlook.
Like most students, Christopher Keegan, MCAS ’18, had a plan going into the housing lottery, but things turned out differently than he had anticipated.
“Well, we went for an eight-man and got denied a pick time for all the suite housing days,” Keegan said. “We eventually got a pick time on Wednesday at 8:15 which, as it turns out, was the last pick time where we were guaranteed housing on CoRo.”
Keegan and his eight-man decided to block rooms in Williams, and there are benefits to this living situation that he didn’t anticipate having.
“I’m so close to class and to Mac—I can roll out of bed, shower, and be in nearly any academic building within 10 minutes,” Keegan said.
Anyone living on CoRo is required to have a meal plan since none of the dorms have kitchens or kitchenettes. Although most of the people at Mac are freshmen, CoRo is closer to the cafeteria, resulting in quick walks for meals.
There are communal bathrooms, so students have another way to get to know each other through late-night talks after brushing their teeth. Additionally, since many of the hallways are blocked groups of eight- or six-mans, many sophomores already know most people living around them.
“The best part about living in my building, as cheesy as it may sound, is the people,” Keegan said. “Most kids in my building have become friends, and because our floor is made up of different blocked friend groups, we’ve all gotten along well and hang out with each other regularly. Sometimes a night in Williams is just as fun as a night on Lower.”
When approaching the living situation, Keegan helps remind freshmen especially to build a group of people that you want to live with, to have a direct roommate sorted out, and to not stress.
“Go for what you want, but don’t be disappointed if you don’t get it—it’s a lottery after all,” he said. “Live with your friends, and don’t throw together an eight-man just because you think you need to have one. Live with people you genuinely want to be around for most of your free time.”
Featured Image by Julia Hopkins / Heights Editor
