La vida loca has got nothing on this

As this year’s freshmen have moved out of their dorms, the fall semester will bring new students who will start to move into the many residence halls located on campus.

These buildings will become the new homes for the incoming freshmen, and to help prepare, here is some information on each dorm and some advice from past residents.

There are 10 residence halls at North Dakota State. Churchill, Stockbridge and Johnson/Reed are male only living spaces. Burgum, Dinan and North/South Weible are female only living spaces. There are also four high-rise residence halls: Seim, Sevrinson, Thompson and Pavek, which are all co-ed.

All these residence halls offer different room layouts. The high rises offer suites (two bedrooms and a shared bathroom and entryway), and the other buildings are typically two or three-person rooms with shared community bathrooms on each floor.

Residence halls also have their own lounge areas, kitchens and coinless laundry rooms to meet student’s needs.

All-male residence halls

Churchill is the oldest residence hall on campus, with construction starting in 1927. Students started living in Churchill before school started in 1930. Churchill also has the most recent renovations, which were completed in 2017.

Churchill is located right next to the A. Glenn Hill Center (also known as the STEM building) and is conveniently near the Memorial Union for access to the Union Dining Center (UDC). The rooms in Churchill accommodate two male residents each.

Stockbridge is another all-male residence hall that is located closer to the other residence halls on the east edge of campus. It was completed in 1957 and accommodates two male residents per room.

Reed started housing students in 1962, and Johnson was completed in 1963.

Johnson and Reed are two separate residence halls that connect with each other, and they both connect to the Residence Dining Center (RDC) as well. These residence halls accommodate a minimum of two and a maximum of three male residents in each room.

All-female residence halls

Dinan is the oldest all-female residence hall and was built in 1957. It is located right next to the Memorial Union and is centered on many classes. Dinan can house two female residents per room.

Burgum is another all-female residence hall on campus and started housing students in 1962. Burgum is located further south on campus, as it is located by the library and near the Memorial Union.

Students in this residence hall are also within walking distance to restaurants like Jimmy John’s and Herd and Horns, which are just across the street. Burgum allows two or three female residents per room.

The last all-female residence hall is Weible, which was built in 1963 and has North and South ends. Like Johnson and Reed, North and South Weible connect to each other.

These two residence halls also connect to the RDC. Two or three female residents can be assigned to a room.

Co-ed residence halls

The four high rises are centered on the West Dining Center (WDC), and each has an underground passage to the dining center. These residence halls are 8 stories high, and each room can accommodate up to four people with a suite like layout, meaning each dorm gets its own bathroom.

Advice from a hall director

Someone with much insight on residence hall life is Mark Maliskey, the current hall director of Weible.

Maliskey has been a hall director for three years. He was hall director for two years at Stockbridge, and this past school year was his first year in Weible. Maliskey will continue to be the hall director of Weible in the 2019-20 school year as well.

Maliskey talked about the link between having a higher GPA and having the access to studying here on campus because students are within walking distance to their classes and the library.

Security was another aspect Maliskey discussed, as residence halls are kept secure at all times. There are always resident assistants (RA) for help and to answer any questions as well.

In regard to how students can feel more at home while living in the residence halls, Maliskey had some input as well. “Meet your neighbors and others on your floor,” Maliskey said.

He also had one other tip for the incoming freshmen. “Get involved around the community,” he recommended.

Being connected to the Residence Dining Center and the good location were the main features past Weible residents have loved about the residence hall.

Maliskey also mentioned the bathrooms in South Weible will be renovated this summer for the incoming South Weible residents.

Advice from current students

Kaylee Herman, a current NDSU student, explained what she liked most about living in Pavek. “The best thing about living in a dorm is being close to classes,” Herman said. “I don’t like the noise sometimes when I am trying to sleep, but overall I have liked living in Pavek.”

Herman also gave some advice to those who will be living in a residence hall next year. “If you don’t get along with your roommate, talk to your RA. They will be able to help you in any situation,” Herman said. “Also, if someone knocks on the door at 8 p.m., don’t answer it because things get crazy pretty fast.”

Another student who talked about their experiences in the residence halls was Trevor Theurer.

Theurer was a resident of Stockbridge and talked about his year there. “The best thing about living in a dorm was the friends I have met and the communal bond that is there,” Theurer said.

In regard to living in a residence hall, Theurer advised: “Don’t be afraid to talk to your neighbors and those on different floors.”

Theurer also said he is going to miss some things about his residence hall. “I’m going to miss the room size and being able to talk to the people there.”

Theurer said he liked Stockbridge’s location because it was only a block away from most of the other residence halls on campus.

Dining centers

As students will need to feel at home in the residence halls, there are three options of dining centers they can choose from.

Residence Dining Center is the dining center located in the center of Weible and Johnson/Reed. This dining center is open seven days a week and offers students many options of food to choose from.

The stations that can be found at RDC are the grill, classics, global and options. RDC also has a salad and sandwich bar, its own coffee shop and breakfast station.

West Dining Center is being renovated and will be completed in time for the incoming freshman class.

Like RDC, WDC is now going to offer more options for students to choose from. WDC will have more stations like global, homestyle, grill and a pizza station.

A salad and sandwich bar, bakery and breakfast station will also be ready for students to use in the coming school year.

The last of the three dining centers is the Union Dining Center. This is the dining center located in the basement of the Memorial Union.

At UDC there is one station that offers a variety of meals weekly. UDC, like the other three dining centers, offers a salad and sandwich bar along with a breakfast station. 

Future freshmen will soon have their own residence hall experiences as move in day is not far away.