Tower is the better option for first-year students
As incoming freshmen, students face the decision of where to live for the next academic year, and no one wants to make the wrong choice.
Students who decide dorm life is right for them still have two options to face — the freshman-only Theophilus Tower or the much bigger Wallace Residence Center. Each choice has its own pros and cons.
As the central residence hall on campus, Wallace offers several facilities not found in other dorms. Bob’s Place, the only dining hall on campus, is in Wallace. This allows for quick and easy walks to get food without having to go outside and face the unpredictable Moscow weather. Along with Bob’s, the mailroom for both residence halls is located in Wallace, which again saves you some horrible walks. Living in Wallace also means each room has its own private bathroom, shared only with suitemates. This means instead of competing to take a shower with an entire floor, there are three other people to battle with. This can be nice if students are in a hurry and need to take a shower without having to wait.
Most of the cons to living in Wallace stem from the dorm rooms themselves. The rooms in Wallace are small and do not allow you to have a group of friends come over without feeling crowded. Even with bunk beds, they are still smaller than the Tower rooms, which often lead to people coming to the Tower to hang out.
In Wallace suites, you sleep in bunk beds, which can make sleeping harder for both roommates. The main issue is that in bunk beds you can hear every wake and turn of the person below or above you and this can make it harder to sleep.
Another con is that you have three roommates, which means the odds of liking everyone is small, which can suck because most stuff is shared and there is only a door dividing the two rooms. Although you and your suitemates get your own bathroom and shower, they are both smaller than usual, which is not such a big deal, but can get annoying.
Unlike Wallace, each room in the Tower comes with two twin extra large beds on opposite sides of the room. Even with two separate beds in each room, there is still more open space than in Wallace, which makes inviting friends over easier. In the Tower, you only have one roommate — and the odds of liking one roommate are better than liking three.
The Tower also promotes getting involved in the college community by requiring residents complete the Vandal Edge program by the end of fall semester. The Vandal Edge program includes things like joining a school club, attending at least two culturally based programs and participating in at least one service project. These may seem like a con, however, it is extremely easy to complete and it will get you out of the dorm room and onto campus.
Since the only dining hall that uses meal plans and the mail room are located in Wallace, students will have to take a minute walk to go get food or their mail. Although a minute walk does not sound bad, you will have to brave the temperamental weather, and in the winter it can get annoying.
Another con is that the elevators are constantly broken, since many people try to get on it at once. If you find yourself in a hurry and live on a higher floor in the 11-story Tower, you may find yourself having to take the stairs and getting some unwanted exercise.
Some people consider sharing bathrooms and showers with an entire floor as a con, because Wallace provides each suite with their own. With six bathroom stalls and six showers, the communal bathrooms can be a pain to share with 38 to 39 other students in the morning.
Both residence halls have their pros and cons, however, I think the Tower provides a better living environment and is a better option for incoming freshman.