Posts tagged dorm

Nope! But that’s just because all of our housing is totally mixed between age, year, gender, academic concentration, etc. This gives each house a nice cross-section of the campus population - while housemates might generally be aligned in their views on something like quiet hours, that might be where face-value similarities end between residents. Your housemates will study different things, be from different parts of the world, and of course there will be students of differing gender identities and sexual orientations.

Everyone is welcome in on-campus housing, which is why specific housing options for the students you list is probably unnecessary in terms of helping people feel welcome or insulated. You should know that Student Life is always available for students to discuss housing options for whatever reason, though I think housing does a wonderful job already of pulling together ~35 students of different ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles to make a harmonious community in each house.

-Evan ‘13

Yeah, of course! Indoor smoking isn’t allowed anywhere on campus, but pretty much anywhere outdoors is fair game. 

-Evan ‘13

Yes. There are six quads - all in the 70s houses - that are four-person rooms. Having lived in one myself, I can say that they are absolutely massive and perfectly suitable for a four-person living situation. The 70s houses also have what are commonly referred to as the upstairs quads, which are four separate rooms that converge around a shared common room. As far as I know, freshmen aren’t placed into these quads, so it’s a safe bet that if you’re placed in a quad it will be one of the downstairs ‘studio’ quads.

-Evan ‘13

Fels used to be a smoking house, but there are no smoking houses any more, so no to the latter. Sometimes people do smoke in their rooms but that is against student policies and can result in huge fines if you get caught. So, don’t do that.

As for loudness, I don’t live in Fels so I can’t really speak to that too much. My impression is that it tends to be a little louder than the median, but it has its periods of loud on the weekends and quiet during the week just like every other house. Something really important to note is that houses change each year with the incoming freshman class/new residents, so you will also have a say in how the Fels community shapes out this year. Like I said; I don’t live in Fels so I can’t give you the best idea of what it’s like to live there, but assuming you’re an incoming freshman so you’ll have a better idea of what it’s like in a few short weeks. Hang in there!

-Evan ‘13

o hei thar

Bingham-specific, something you should definitely bring is a floor lamp and a desk lamp. Talk to your roommate; see if they already have one, because you probably don’t need two. Bingham doesn’t have overhead lighting and most other colonial houses don’t either. Floor lamps are always handy to have around anyway.

Being the best there ever was is also an important trait to have, so, yeah, be conscientious that you’re always doing that. Otherwise, you’ll get a better idea once you get here!

Looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

-Evan ‘13

To be honest, I’m not sure where we’d find the housing questionnaire from this past year or whether or not it changes a bunch from year to year. I think I can give you an idea of how they match you up, though.

Basically, they ask you questions like:

• When do you go to bed/wake up?
• How important is cleanliness to you?
• What kind of music do you like/dislike?
• What is most important to you in a roommate/house?

And then you’re also (if I remember correctly) given the opportunity to write in some sort of summary of yourself in order to give a sense of your personality and how you relate things. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the questions they ask, but I’m fairly sure it’s mostly correct, so.

Essentially it’s a pretty comprehensive survey and I think from what I’ve seen that people who are honest and thorough in their answers get placed in living situations that work out really well for them. I hope this helps give a sense of how the housing process works!

-Evan ‘13

If you’re planning on bringing a bunch of electronics I would say…. yes. 

-Michaela ‘13

If I tried, it wouldn’t really do them any justice. The problem with trying to define house personalities right now is that they haven’t really been defined yet - it’s completely up to the people who currently live in a given house to decide what their own living experience is. Thus, any description I or any of the other interns would give you would be outdated and likely out of touch (since we’re only really experts on the houses we actually live in).

Sorry I can’t answer your question. Just know that there is a huge variety in house personalities from one to the next and that we have houses that are very loud; very quiet; and very much in between the two extremes. There is definitely something for everyone and our housing process seeks to identify what housing environment might be best for every incoming student. You (and I) will have a better sense of the house personalities when everyone arrives on campus, I promise.

-Evan ‘13

Hey there! Glad you found us.

So, first of all, all our ‘houses’ are technically dorms. They can each house roughly 35 students each, and they are all maintained and cleaned by the College. The reason I think you might have been confused is that most students typically refer to the dorms as houses - they look and feel less institutional and more home-y, so it’s basically just semantics. But yes! Houses = Dorms, in Bennington parlance.

Roommates are chosen and placed by Student Life on the basis of a housing survey that asks questions like: ‘when do you go to bed/wake up?’ ‘what music/movies do you like/dislike?’ ‘what are you looking for in a house/roommate?’ I always say it’s kind of like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter, honestly. No one knows for sure whether it’s an art or a science. What’s cool is that each house has its own personality that forms from the community living in it, which results in residents taking a lot of pride in the house they live in.

Finally, girls and guys are not roomed together by default. While it is totally fine to reserve a room with a member of the opposite sex, Student Life doesn’t do it randomly; you have to specifically request a roommate of the opposite gender.

Hope this helped!

-Evan ‘13

Best places in town (and nearby) to purchase items for your new room:

1. Goodwill or Salvation Army: A great place for buying quirky lamps, nightstands, extra bookshelves, lil’ knick knacks, etc.

2. Walmart or Kmart: mattress pad, comforter, pillows, sheets, towels, lamp, laundry basket, shower caddy

3. ERC Community Warehouse: If you want to find that special, pre-owned loveseat, couch, or overstuffed chair

4. Camelot Village: An antiquer’s dream!! Room after room (three stories in a huge converted barn, in fact) of antique furniture, collectibles, and god only knows what else

5. Manchester outlets (including Polo/Ralph Lauren & Michael Kors): For those who desire a higher thread count, several of the outlets here have great deals on linens.

There’s also always the option of purchasing items online, from say, Bed Bath & Beyond, and having them shipped to school before you get here. I would actually highly recommend this for things like mattress pads, comforters, and anything else that’s particularly bulky that you don’t feel like schlepping on the plane with you.  

Also, check out the Bennington Rooms series by India K. ‘12 to see what various students have done with their spaces.

Happy nesting!

-Amira ‘13

It is definitely a good idea to pack light for school. All students who live in the 70s and the New houses will have to move out of their rooms for FWT and summer. That means 4 moves a year. 

I would recommend not bringing:

• Personal Books (you won’t have time to read them)
• Printer (their are plenty of printers on campus)
• Fridge (only if you love cold things)

Those are the only things I can think of. Just keep in mind that rooms are small, and you share the space with a roommate. Here is the official school link on Housing Basics.

Kevin 13’