Touring colleges? Look for social spaces in dorms
They are called “sticky places” — communal gathering spots that lend themselves to lounging, chance encounters, or studying in a group.
On college campuses in Wisconsin and across the country they have been embraced as the next cool thing to tip a high school student’s decision. That’s key at a time when enrollments are declining, and jockeying for prospective students has become critical.
Although they may not admit it, feeling isolated and lonely is one of the biggest fears high school students consider as they tour campuses during the fall college admissions season. Finding the right college fit includes picturing what life will look like before and after class. Will the food be any good? Is this a place where I
can easily make friends and study comfortably without having to always trek to the library?
With that in mind, colleges are reimagining residence halls with more natural light and spaces conducive to studying, making meaningful connections, working on projects — and increasing the odds of having happy, successful students who will return next year.
Many new dorms, including one under construction at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, are designed to have game rooms with pool tables or ping pong tables and screens for students to bring in gaming equipment. They’re much more welcoming than the dark, basement game rooms of the past. There will also be a music room for students to practice.
Dorm kitchens with social areas attached are designed to feel like home, said Frank Bartlett, director of university housing at UW-Whitewater. “You can cook a pizza in the oven and have friends over,” he said. “Every university is trying to get students as actively engaged as possible.”
The new Whitewater residence hall will have a fireplace on the main floor.
“There’s nothing more comforting than a fireplace in the winter,” Bartlett said.
The same is true at UW-Eau Claire, which also has a residence hall under construction that — like the one in Whitewater — will open in 2019. Photos on the university website show gathering spaces that resemble a conference center more than a traditional dorm.
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities — a serious competitor for Wisconsin students —has meditation rooms in its 17th Avenue residence hall, which opened in 2013. Meditation rooms also will be included in Pioneer Hall, which is undergoing a $104.5 million remodel and will open next year. The softly lit meditation rooms with welcoming area rugs and soft floor pillow seating offer soothing aesthetics and require a key to enter to minimize interruptions.
Don’t let students cocoon
The overarching goal is to lure students out of isolation.
“Shy people tend to stay in their rooms,” said Mario Walker, a sophomore from Milwaukee and resident assistant at Marquette University’s new residence hall, The Commons, which opened this fall.
An innovative staircase in The Commons doubles as a theater with wide, cushioned steps beside practical steps, floor-to-ceiling windows and a big screen for watching movies, big games, and breaking news.
Last month, the theater staircase featured a successful karaoke night.
“It’s a great space because students have to pass through the theater on the stairs to get to their rooms, and sometimes they stop and stay,” said freshman Christian Cruz of Wheeling, Illinois, who lives in The Commons.
“I love that its giant steps are modern looking with padding to sit on,” Cruz said of the theater staircase. “It’s one of the focal points as a common area. You can order pizza and have it delivered.”
Large interior windows allow students to scan the dining hall below for familiar faces.
“There are times when I look past the windows to the dining hall and see my friends. I may not be hungry, but I can go down and talk with them,” Cruz said.
A practice room on the second floor also has big windows overlooking the dining room below. A “pie in face” fundraising event in the practice room in October got extra visibility, when students “pied” their resident assistants with shaving cream pies to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
Students in the dining room below the practice room could look up and watch the event through the windows.
The dining room, by the way, is open 24 hours a day. The popular stir fry station and smokehouse barbecue shut down at 10 p.m., but sandwiches, salads and hot foods are available later, noted Abigail Oye, a sophomore from Waukegan, Illinois, who lives in The Commons.
Meditation, music rooms
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
— a serious competitor for Wisconsin students —has meditation rooms in its 17th Avenue residence hall, which opened in 2013.
Meditation rooms also will be included in Pioneer Hall, which is undergoing a $104.5 million remodel and will open next year. The softly lit meditation rooms with welcoming area rugs and soft floor pillow seating offer soothing aesthetics and require a key to enter to minimize interruptions.
“The meditation rooms are used for a lot of different things,” said Susan Stubblefield, associate director of residential life at the UM-Twin Cities campus. “We wanted spaces that create a sense of calm, free of interruptions.”
Some students need a quieter place for faith-based practices. Pioneer Hall will have a foot-washing station in the meditation room for Muslim students who pray several times a day.
Like the new residence hall in Whitewater, new or reconfigured dorms in the Twin Cities also have music rooms where students can practice an instrument, or listen to music in a group, because music is calming and nurtures the soul.
“We are trying to create spaces where students can find community outside their rooms because they are craving social connection,” Stubblefield said. “We’re trying to create that opportunity for connections to happen.”
Stubblefield has worked hall life for 33 years.
“The most important change is technology,” she said. “Students have their own devices and they want to plug into docking stations with a larger monitor and keyboard.”
The other thing she has noticed is that students study alone, but together. They’re on their laptops, studying, in a social space with others. They may be wearing headphones.
Students want to be alone sometimes, but they also want to be together with other students, Bartlett said.
“Students have less reasons to be face to face today, and lounging space promotes community and the see-andbe-seen effect,” said Derek Jackson, facilities and physical environment director for Kansas State University and a member of the executive board for the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International. “All of which gives students opportunities to connect.”
in residence