Student life on campus is starkly divided into two distinct classes of living: those enjoying the luxuries of UB's apartments and those entrenched in dormitory life. UB contrives to improve its recruiting abilities each year by christening an on-campus apartment complex, but its efforts to attract students with higher standards of living are being undermined by the unsavory conditions of the dorms.
Many UB dorm rooms are claustrophobically small. In Governors complex "A" rooms two students share a 14 x 18 ft. room. In this space squeeze two beds, two dressers, two desks and two chairs, two computers, a television, a stereo, a mini-refrigerator, food, dishes and books and you have a recipe that yields two servings of misery. The thought of being crammed into such a small space with a stranger and all of his or her belongings is particularly unappealing to the average American college student, who probably owns a significant body of clothes and electronics and has perhaps never before shared a bedroom.
The population density in the dorms equally contributes to filthy common areas. Pizza crusts, wrappers, other foodstuffs, papers and assorted pieces of garbage are often strewn about the hallways. Outside, papers sift across the Ellicott terrace, and used condoms are not an uncommon sight.
The noise levels in the dorms can be unsettling, and can make it impossible to study. Even in the middle of the night the clamor of rowdy students may not subside. Many students play the radio to drown out the raucous of others both in and outside the buildings.
In the Ellicott complex, bathrooms are frequently shared by more than 15 people. A single bathroom serving this many people at UB usually has two toilets, two showers and three sinks, and can become absolutely vile at a shockingly rapid rate. It becomes a serious problem on the weekends when they are serviced only on emergencies; by Monday morning they can often be described only as foul.
The residence halls are made even more unattractive by the physical amenities. The furniture is commonly old, worn and uncomfortable. Most rooms lack overhead lighting and instead are lit by two dreary 60-watt lamps and mirror lights.
While the apartment complexes are attractive additions to the university, two years of dorm life stand between them and freshmen. The administration's efforts to make life at UB more attractive would be better realized if the traditional residence halls did not stand in stark contrast to what student housing can be. The residence halls need to be remodeled.
Residence hall occupancy must be reduced. Rooms could be combined to increase the space available to each student while decreasing the general population density. For example, Governors "A," "B" and "C" rooms, presently crowded with two people each, should be joined into two double occupancy rooms to form a truly livable living space.
Decreased population density would improve the quality of life on campus dramatically. It would reduce the number of people using each bathroom to an acceptable number. Common areas would be more hygienic. The noise levels would be more tolerable and the students would be less susceptible to disease.
Additionally, the atmosphere in the residence halls should be improved with proper overhead lighting and more thorough maintenance.
Prospective students are considering life at UB in the dorms first and in the apartments second. Problems in the dorms stand in the way of the success of the apartments. If the university wishes to draw more students to UB with a higher quality of living, they must not neglect the residence halls.
