Posts tagged room
Howdy. So, first of all, the rooming process is something that’s highly personalized and considered for each student. Before you arrive at Bennington, you fill out a housing application to Student Life where you’re asked questions about things like: when you go to bed, when you wake up, how messy you are, what you like to do for fun, etc. etc. ad infinitum. The idea is for Student Life to get the best sense of your personality that they can from the application.
From there, the Dean of Students reads each application and pairs each student up with a roommate (in relatively rare cases, students can be placed in triples or quads; but speaking as someone who has lived in both, I’ve never really lacked for floorspace in either situation). From that initial pairing, the Dean takes the roommates and places them in houses that fit their lifestyles as best as possible.
Another component to the roommate thing is that every semester you and your roommate will write a Roommate Agreement with one another, as facilitated by your House Chairs. The agreement offers a really good chance for you and your roommate to have an open dialogue about what your values are, how you’ll solve disagreements, and what your policies are on guests, noise, and mess. Having that direct line of communication, in my experience, has always been a really valuable resource in ensuring a harmonious living situation.
-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
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
The word from Student Life is sometime in mid-July, barring any sorta delays. So, probably not for at least another week or two. Just a heads-up, though: in Admissions, I/we only know as much about housing/roommates/classes as the incoming freshmen do, so we will probably never be a great resource to ask about things like that.
Your best bet (assuming that you’re an incoming freshman) for that kind of information is either to ask around on the Class of 2016 Facebook group or call the office of Student Life at (802)-440-4330. I’d say give it another couple of weeks before you start making phone calls though - it’ll all be worth it, I promise.
-Evan ‘13
If you’re planning on bringing a bunch of electronics I would say…. yes.
-Michaela ‘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
Vivian, ‘14
Hometown: Ridgewood, NJ
Style: Barnes House
Plans: Dance and education
Vivian is a sophomore here at Bennington, but because she is a house chair of her house, she has a single down one of the upstairs hallways. Her room is a cozy space with a huge window looking out onto the soccer field and the surrounding woods of the campus. The first thing I notice are the custom curtains she has put up. “My mom made them with me,” she says. “They fit perfectly across the windows. It gets pretty sunny in here so it’s nice to have the option to close them.” It certainly creates a warm feeling around her bed, which also sports a couple blankets and pillows for maximum comfort.
Vivian’s studies at Bennington surround dance and collaboration. “I am interested in learning about people through dance and collaboration projects,” she says. “I take part in learning about people’s movement styles by improvising dance with them, and this allows me to learn more about my own movements.”
I ask Vivian what her favorite things in her room are. She points out her tea collection and a pillow of the state of New Jersey, her home state, on her desk chair. Some other things I personally really like about Vivian’s room is how meticulously she has decorated it, leaving blank wall space but still hanging things up here and there.
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
Greg, ‘12
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Style: Woo House
Plan: Music production with a side of music theory, composition, and performance
The first thing Greg tells me he likes about his room are the high ceilings. This is something the Woo Houses have to offer: high, slanted ceilings that reach up to fifteen feet high. In addition to this are the large windows that offer great views and light during the day; Greg’s room overlooks the fields where the student garden is planted.
While not heavily decorated, Greg’s room does have select posters on the wall for different bands. “Another thing I like about my room is that it is a reflection of who I am but also who I have been. I don’t really listen to a lot of those bands with posters on the wall but I did at some point.”
Greg’s room does indeed reflect his passion and interest in music. There is a shelf of nothing but his extensive record collection and the small orange amp he owns sits atop larger speakers that are hooked up to his turntable. He is interested in all sides of it, from the post production to the live performance. “Liberal arts educate the whole person and Bennington is letting me educate the whole musician, I guess,” he tells me. “Each individual thing I study informs each other. Engineering makes me a better songwriter, and being a songwriter makes me a better engineer.”
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
Emily Jane, ‘12
Hometown: West Hartford, CT
Style: Colonial House
Plans: Visual art and architecture, working primarily with tactile sculptures
I am completely blown away by Emily Jane’s room upon walking in. Everything is so organized, so thought out, and so tranquil. As I take a seat, I notice right away how close everything is to the ground. ”I put all of my furniture quite low, to establish a low center of gravity which activates the floor as possible seating,” Emily tells me. “Because of that, the room feels larger and can comfortably accommodate many people, letting the people on the bed converse with the people lounging on the floor. There is ample seating and everyone is at the same height.”
Just from this statement it is obvious that Emily has put a lot of thought into her space. As a sculpture student working with interactive and tactile sculpture, her room reflects her interest in the possibility every day designs can have. “I built the bench out of a door and two logs,” Emily says, indicating the bench against the wall upon which I am sitting. The blank wall space also adds to this cohesive, calming effect the room has.
Another lovely aspect to Emily’s room is the rocking hair in the corner next to an awesome plant. “I got that from Hoosick Warehouse,” Emily says. The Hoosick Warehouse (actually named the ERC Community Warehouse) is an amazing second hand furniture/everything else store where many Bennington student procure extra items for their rooms, such as chairs or bookshelves. Emily Jane’s rocking chair is a great example of what can be found there.
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
Chris, ‘12 and Shannon, ‘12
Hometowns: Boston, MA and Kansas City, MO
Style: Colonial House
Plans: Computer science & Animation (Chris), Theater & Media Studies (Shannon)
Chris and Shannon like to keep their room simple. They tend to hang out in here more than work since most of their work happens in the art building VAPA. Because of this, their focus is more on the room as a functional space to spend down time rather than simply a bedroom.
“We wanted to make it as much like an apartment as we could,” says Shannon. “It definitely feels more like an apartment.” Curtains on the windows and a television help with this vibe. Chris is somewhat of a computer wiz and because of this is interested in electronics of all kinds. And of course, there is their beloved Xbox, definitely an important part of their down time. Perfect for playing games or watching a movie from their comfy double bed that they created by pushing the two twin xl beds Bennington gives everyone together.
On their desk, which remains clean and sparse for Shannon to work at, I notice a Boba Fett clock. “I gave that to Chris for his birthday,” Shannon tells me. Small accents like this, including photos on some of the bookshelves, make the room personal in a subtle way.
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
Parke, ‘15 and Juliette, ‘15
Hometowns: Los Angeles, CA and Paris, France
Style: Colonial House
Plans: Both Parke and Juliette have not written their plans yet, but Parke is intending to do directing with some literature on the side. Juliette likes lots of things and is looking to combine the history of theater and astronomy.
“My favorite thing about our space,” Parke tells me as I sit down in their double, “is that it really is a marriage of Juliette and I. It reflects our personalities and ideals.” While Parke and Juliette’s room is selectively decorated, there certainly is a distinct choice in what is put up. From the crosses on Parke’s closet door to the red lamp by Juliette’s desk, their space is filled with things that they find precious and interesting.
“Once every couple weeks, Juliette and I just go cleaning crazy and clean everything,” says Parke. “We like to keep our space pretty neat.” Both of their beds are pushed against walls and their desks are nestled away, making for a large open space in the middle of the room that is easy to move around in. “We call that the chasm,” Parke tells me. “We wanted to make our room easy to hang out in, not just a space to study or sleep.”
I can’t help but notice the totally adorable note Parke has left on Juliette’s desk. Upon my bringing it up, Parke says “She is awesome. We were placed together so well.” When Parke and Juliette arrived as first term freshmen and got to their room, they left the furniture as it was and didn’t move it around a lot. However now in their second term, they decided to really try and work the space to their liking.
“I really do feel like I am coming home when I am here,” Parke says.
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
Mary, ‘12
Hometown: Cambridge, MA
Style: Colonial House
Plan: Dance and literature
The first thing I ask Mary is if she is fond of the color purple. Her room seems to rotate around this particular color, from the couch to the drapes on the window and the small rug on the ground. And speaking of the couch, it certainly catches your eye and is, at least for me, the coolest thing in the room. “That couch belonged to another resident,” Mary tells me. “She passed it down to me when she graduated. I think she bought it from a consignment sale.” It is not uncommon for seniors in houses to pass down items they can’t take with them after they graduate.
Mary likes to keep her walls pretty plain and void of decoration. “It’s easier to read and concentrate if I do,” she says. She also likes to leave a lot of floor space so that it is easier to stretch. “I can’t dance in here, but it is very easy to stretch with all the space I have.”
On Mary’s desk, I notice an interesting combination of books: Paradise Lost and the entire His Dark Materials series. “That is actually for my lit class this term on Paradise Lost,” Mary tells me. “Philip Pullman was very influenced by Milton and wrote His Dark Materials as a modern commentary on things Paradise Lost also dealt with.”
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
Bryan, ‘13
Hometown: White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Style: Barnes House
Plan: Agriculture as more than food production
The first thing you might notice upon coming into Bryan’s room is how incredibly warm it is. “The room needs to stay at 80 degrees for the plants,” he tells me. Bryan’s plan is in sustainable food; he takes biology and environmental studies classes that, when combined together, make for a unique approach to this idea of sustainability concerning agriculture. Bryan is also one of the students who works here on campus in the student garden and helps run the sustainable food committee. His room pretty aptly reflects these interests. The Barnes Houses have large windows for maximum light; his windowsill is filled with seedlings, some already sprouting. Bryan points out chard, broccoli, onion, and kale. “I’m keeping them in here for now until we can plant them in the garden,” he says. “So my room won’t be this hot all term.”
Bryan has pushed his bed into the giant closet, something Barnes houses have to offer, to maximize space. He also notes the violin on the wall, a favorite instrument of his. He studies violin with John Kirk, a Celtic and American folk music professor on campus. Even though Bryan concentrates in sustainable food, he is still pursuing other interests like music.
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
Madeline, ‘15 and Julia, ‘15
Hometowns: Bridgewater, NJ and San Francisco, CA
Style: Colonial House
Plans: Madeline and Julia are both freshmen, so they haven’t written their plans yet. But both of them are thinking about a couple things: animal science and natural holistic sciences (Madeline) and women and folk culture studies and healing arts (Julia).
“Julia and I basically have the same taste in decorating, so we’re a great match,” says Madeline. Indeed, their room is very homey and well decorated. Both their beds have blankets, quilts, and comforters from home and their walls are adorned with reminders of home, their most recent Field Work Term in San Francisco, and their interests in science and healing arts.
“It’s funny how similar we are while keeping different interests,” Julia says. “Both of us are interested in holistic arts, but through different veins.” Madeline is interested in pursuing her passion for animals and animal science through her education here. For her first Field Work Term, she worked at a vet’s office. Julia assisted a midwife in a hospital for hers. The calming feeling their room gives off definitely provides the setting for a duo that is fascinated by different remedial practices.
When asked what their favorite part of their room is, Madeline points out their window and the plants hanging in it. “It makes the room feel special,” she says. “It gives it a warm and personal vibe.” Julia talks about her comforter, the one on the bed just under the window: “My mom and I just went to the fabric store before I left for school and made one.”
This is part of an ongoing Bennington Rooms series
Look at more here!
For more about living on campus, check out the website here
For more about the plan, check this page out
-India K, ‘12
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