Thatcher Slocum, Campus Correspondent (he/him/his):
“It’s over Anakin. I have the high ground.” It’s one of the most famous quotes of cinema and one of the most universal facts of life. Being high is always better than being low, whether physically, emotionally, in a sword (or lightsaber) fight and most importantly, in a dorm building.
I’m really not sure how someone could argue that lower floors are better. The only thing I can think of is that it’s more convenient in the event of an evacuation, or if you despise waiting for elevators or walking up or down stairs. High floors have too many benefits to name: there’s less foot traffic and noise, more privacy, better views, no noisy upstairs neighbors and higher ceilings, depending on the building.
I suppose if you live in an older building (like Whitney, my current residence hall), there are some disadvantages to higher floors, notably the absence of elevators and leakier ceilings. But I love hiking and nature, so getting some daily elevation gain in and having some impromptu waterfalls in the dorm is always welcome — alright, the leaky ceilings bit may be a bit of a stretch.
When choosing a dorm, the argument for lower floors just doesn’t hold water, but the high floors do, especially when it’s raining.
Ayyan Tamjeed, Campus Correspondent (he/him/his):
I believe it is better to live on lower floors in a dormitory than higher floors. I love the fact that my options of taking either the stairs or an elevator carry the same weight.
Ideally, I would only have to go down two to four flights of stairs, and an elevator ride would cost at most a minute of my time. This low cost of exiting my room makes my choice of going to the Rec Center, meeting up with friends at Student Union or going for walks around campus much easier.
Molly Daigle, Campus Correspondent (she/her/hers):
Living on the lower floors of a residence hall has many perks. First and most importantly, in the event of the fire alarm going off at three in the morning because your neighbor forgot to add water to their instant ramen, you won’t have to trek down — and right back up — seven grueling flights of stairs, all while half asleep and wishing you didn’t have class in just a few short hours.
Living on a lower floor also helps ease the stress and energy exerted during move-in week — especially if you’re unlucky enough to land a room within a building that lacks elevators. Forcing your family to lug your entire life up four flights of stairs in the blistering summer heat isn’t as much of a family bonding experience as one might imagine.
As much as living on an upper floor could provide a nice view of campus, there’s always the more than likely possibility that you’re like me and end up claiming a seventh-floor view of a stunning brick wall.
Overall, as someone who went from living on the basement floor of my first residence hall to now the top floor of my current building, I would say that the lower floors of residence halls typically present more convenience and are pretty much always a solid option to live on.
Ben Lassy, Life Editor (he/him/his):
There’s an old saying, “what goes up must come down,” and during last week’s move-in weekend, I learned how real that expression is. While attempting to carry a mini-fridge up to a new third-floor apartment, I took a tumble, dropped the mini-fridge and pounded my face into a brick wall.
I admit that I saw the writing on that brick wall. Carrying a remarkably ginormous mini fridge wasn’t my brightest idea; but neither was deciding to dorm on the third floor (the highest in the building).
Certainly, being at the top has perks — there aren’t any loud stompers upstairs. But, have I now become the stomper? I worry that my late-night steps are now annoying a studious individual on the floor below. It sounds trivial, but I can’t avoid thinking about it.
So, lower floors are the way to go. Likewise, try and go for a corner room, sometimes they have extra space and fewer neighbors. With a low-floor corner room, your college experience is sure to be less trippy than mine.