Coming to campus my freshman year, I was a fish out of water. Born and raised in Boise, the college town that is Moscow felt like a different world. A much smaller world.
I didn’t come into my college experience with the most positive of mindsets. Being a bit cynical myself, I doubted whether I would click with new people or enjoy my time in creaky dorm beds. Looking back now as a junior, I would say my daunting freshman year was a success, something I credit to living in the Theophilus Tower freshman year.
As someone who has had difficulty meeting new people, living in the Tower opened me up. The most social of the dorms on campus, I met most of my friends on one of its 11 floors.
The Tower is a sky-high building with floors alternating by gender. Each floor has roughly 30 residents with mainly double rooms. The bathrooms, which are cleaned regularly, are shared by the whole floor.
Depending on the nature of the floor you live on, many residents in the Tower my year had an open door policy, constantly visiting each others’ spaces. Having a double room guaranteed I wouldn’t be isolated, while I did luck out and befriend my roommate.
Being surrounded by UI students in the same situation brought a sense of community. I got more involved with volunteer events like ISYNC and Paint the Palouse that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I also participated in floor bonding, with traditions or preparation for things like Tower Trick or Treat.
While I didn’t befriend anyone on my floor that year, I got to know some of the girls I still see around campus. Having traditions and events as a floor brought us all together.
Living on campus got me more involved with events on campus that I wouldn’t have gone to otherwise. Things like The Eatery’s breakfast for dinner during finals week got me out talking to people even at an odd hour.
The convenience of having The Eatery on-campus made more time for my freshman year while also getting me out of my dorm. My meal plan had me out eating with friends rather than settling for ramen at my desk.
With the structure of dorm living comes a support system unique to university life. Having an RA that checks in on you is valuable the first year away from home. In my experience, UI has had great RAs willing to support you through any issues you’re facing.
Support also comes in the form of easy access to academic support with APMs and other tutoring. Access to things like computers and printers in the Tower basement definitely saved me a few times while living there.
There are also the conveniences of living on campus, being able to roll out of bed and make a 10 minute walk to your first class of the day. This has kept me motivated to stay on top of my classes, being able to attend study sessions or office hours.
It also kept me on campus without feeling forced, taking me to the library or ISUB to do work in the afternoons. And there’s nothing quite like an in between classes nap after a quick walk to the dorms.
As a college town, Moscow is pretty walkable, so living in the dorms without a car freshman year was never an inconvenience for me. You can still explore the city and head downtown without having to drive.
As much as I recommend the Tower and have gone over all the perks of campus living, it doesn’t mean that everyone else will have the same experience. The reality is, you don’t know where you are going to meet the people that will stick around and you don’t necessarily know what will catch your interest.
So my final advice- try out everything. Get involved with student organizations, work on projects in your department and get acquainted with your classmates. Even if living on campus doesn’t work out for you, it doesn’t mean something else won’t.
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq