September 10, 2021 | LIFE | By Paris Levin | Photo by Eric Ingram
The class of 2024 can all agree that we had a difficult start at Colorado College. Between the on-campus quarantine lockdown two weeks into the school year and the plague-ridden squirrels towards the end, last year was a challenge for us new college students.
While the current first-years are enjoying much of what CC has to offer, one facet of their experience stuck out to me as lacking — their housing. While many students are enjoying the first-year halls and their individual quirks, some students are stuck in the dreaded forced triple.
Now, this is not a rare phenomenon in recent school history, but living in a study room is. Due to the unusually large size of the first-year class, paired with our ever-present housing shortage, first-years (and even some sophomores) are living in brand new dorms — but not in new rooms.
As of right now, there seems to be no compensation for this occurrence. “I pay the same as a South triple would be,” Bella Nevin ’25 said. Nevin shares the dorm with her two roommates. She discovered her living situation after her roommates, who were in summer Bridge Scholars Program at the time, FaceTimed her to show her the room.
At first look the room appeared quite similar to its other forced triple variations: three beds lofted on top of desks and storage, a staple microwave and fridge combo, a couple of trash cans and recycling bins, no air conditioning.
The space has traces of its former purpose as well. The walls, for example, are partially a dry erase board that the residents have used to create an ongoing grocery list. On the floor of the dorm, there lies a golden power socket, providing an extra charging spot for everyone. Lining the windows of the room is a slab to place miscellaneous items, most likely previously being desk space.
One concern of transforming a communal space into living space is privacy, as study rooms are traditionally more open in appearance. Nevertheless, the room is separated from the other dorms by a lounge and some stairs.
Specifically for Nevin, the study room carpet is apparently harder to clean than what she is used to. Yet, despite its unconventional setup, Nevin and company managed to still fill their dorm with personality and create a sense of home.
This leads us to the question of how this new CC experience will impact the future of residential life. Without any current concrete plans for new housing to accommodate our school’s growing student population, study dorms may stick around in the near, and maybe even, far future.
There does not seem to be much current pushback for these new dorms, and, according to Nevin, they are adequate living spaces. All in all, I wouldn’t be too surprised if CC kept this study dorm experience around for the time being.