Wallace Residence Center, located on campus, is a living option for first-year, transfer and upper-level students at the University of Idaho.
Sarah McNeil, a second-year student studying chemistry and secondary education, chose to live in Wallace her first two years at UI. McNeil said the living option is convenient for her as a more private person, allowing her to keep to herself when she wants to.
Wallace is a suite-style dorm, meaning two bedrooms share a bathroom, located between the two rooms. According to the UI website, each room has two twin XL beds (bunk style), one large vanity with a sink, two closets, two desks, a mini-fridge and microwave.
Though each room is typically shared by two people, students can pay more to have the room to themselves, which McNeil has done. Having a single room gives her extra storage and more alone time, she said.
Although McNeil said the bathroom is quite small, she said it is convenient to not have to leave her room to use it.
“If you have a couple friends that you want to live with, not that it is equitable to an apartment, but it’s more similar to that,” said Renee Skau, assistant director for leadership development and community standards within UI Housing and Residence Life.
Suites are gender-specific, located on co-ed floors, but there is also a gender-inclusive housing option, Skau said. Both Wallace and the Living Learning Communities, another on-campus living option, have multiple designated gender-inclusive rooms.
When a person selects the gender-inclusive housing option on their online housing application, housing and residence life does not consider a person’s gender when allowing them a room option, Skau said.
“For folks, it’s a way for them to feel like their true authentic self and be their most comfortable self at home,” Skau said. “We’re excited to be able to offer that for our students because it’s been something that they’ve been asking for a while.”
While there is no roommate matching, the housing application includes a list of questions about personal preferences, such as if a student is a morning or night person or if a student enjoys playing video games, participating in sports or being outdoors. A student can then see how others have answered those questions when choosing a room, but they will not see the residents’ names until after they have chosen, Skau said.
Wallace has four separate wings: Gooding, Willey, Ballard and Stevenson. According to the UI website, three of the four floors of the Ballard wing are reserved for housing upper-level students, while all other floors are reserved for first-year students.
In the Ballard wing, where McNeil lives, there are laundry rooms on the second and fourth floors, with multiple washers and dryers. The laundry fee is included in the price of a room, so students do not have to pay each time they do laundry.
McNeil said each floor of each wing has a lounge, which she goes to when she wants to get away. She said the lounge is also used for floor events, like game nights, which the floor community representative works with the Resident Assistant to plan.
In Wallace, residents also can spend time in the basement lounge where they have access to pool, ping pong, air hockey, video gaming and TVs. The basement also houses the Student Success Program, a computer lab and a kitchen.
While the main reason McNeil is moving out of Wallace for the next school year is so she can live with a group of friends, she said another big factor in her decision is having access to a kitchen. McNeil said having only one kitchen in all of Wallace is inconvenient because it can get crowded, and if a person has a food allergy, they may prefer cooking their own food instead of eating at The Hub — which is located in the Wallace facility.
“The kitchen is a big deal to me because I’m not utilizing The Hub, so I don’t want to pay for a meal plan I’m not using,” McNeil said.
Skau said the Student Success Program is a valuable resource located in Wallace. The designated study space is staffed by trained tutors from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
“Everybody has access to that, but for folks who are living in Wallace, all they have to do is come downstairs.”
The location of Wallace — near the recreation center, volleyball and basketball courts and The Hub — is convenient, Skau said.
“I think it’s pretty accessible for a lot of the things that are around campus,” she said.
Jordan Willson can be reached at [email protected]