BY ADAM MORRIS

In print | September 15, 2005

In an article entitled “The New College Mixer” (Sept. 1), The New York Times reported that the 75 students with keys to Alice Paul Hall were moving into “a sleek new dormitory” thoughtfully engineered for modern college students.

The Times article, which also featured four lush photos of Swarthmore’s new dorm, further reported that engineers had the students’ ideal social interaction in mind, citing central lounge space and the inconvenient location of the elevator (which encourages students to take the central stairway leading up from the lounge) as key elements for promoting interaction with neighbors.

The Times did not report on what is probably the biggest complaint of Alice Paul’s residents, however. “A big problem is that the doors automatically close,” said Andy LeClair ‘08, referring to the metal swing arms on the top of each dorm room’s door that have hindered hall life in the new dorm. Other intended improvements to the average college dorm worked out for the better: Trash cans and recycling receptacles are out of view in special nooks on each hall, and each shower stall has a small adjoining booth in the front for clothes and a towel that no longer need to be draped over the curtain rod.

All told, students seem to be happy with the dorm. Rebecca Goldman ’07 had the option of a single in ML basement or being placed on the wait list for a single, but chose an Alice Paul double instead.

“I appreciate living here,” she said. “It’s a bit cleaner than Willets and not as loud or as drunk.” The new dorm had a reputation for feeling institutional last year, but most residents this semester were unconcerned with its unlived-in feel. “It doesn’t have the nostalgia or feel of Wharton, but I had no complaints” Dan Hodson ’09 said, “Everyone [at orientation] said I was really lucky.”

“I like living in a new place,” Lesley Goodman ‘06 said. "It doesn’t smell yet." Sarah Poindexter ‘06, and Lauren Ullrich ’06 agreed. “Sarah and I lived in Willets for two years, so this is nice,” Goodman explained, "it’s clean and it doesn’t smell bad." Poindexter agreed, “although sometimes I miss the vomit smell in the hallway,” she joked.

All three said they enjoy having the TV lounge just at the end of the third floor hall, though Goodman pointed out one that one of the dorm’s features — the inability for students to turn the lights off in halls and lounges — is wasteful and less than ideal for watching movies. Ullrich also pointed out that “a lot of small problems could’ve been avoided if they would’ve asked for student input,” mentioning the thick closet doors which do not accommodate hanging hooks similar to those sold at the bookstore and windows that can be difficult to open. All three are also fans of the laundry room on the second floor, which is more like a lounge than a laundry room.

“It’s a nicer environment than the normal dank, smelly, concrete ones” in other dorms, Ullrich said.

Lounges seem to be the most popular feature of the dorm, from the huge main lounge on the first floor (already becoming a common meeting place for campus groups) and the TV lounge on the third floor, to what Goodman referred to as the “smoker’s lounge”: the third floor balcony complete with Adirondack chairs. “Despite all our bitching,” Goodman concluded, “it’s a really great dorm.”

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