Not every dorm on college campuses is perfect- that is a part of the college experience. But how far from perfect is acceptable? On Haverford’s campus, there are four dormitories reserved for first-year students: Barclay (except for the first floor), Gummere, Jones and Tritton. Many have started to sense some serious problems within the dorms resulting from their age and design.
Barclay is the oldest of the four. Built in 1877, many of its residents have started to notice its age through some of the problems occurring there. For instance, third floor Barclay resident Mya Romans ’28 notes that they have seen mice and mentioned “numerous reports of mice in people’s rooms” as well as several bat sightings. They add that “we have quite a few mouse traps on our floor now,” and “a lot of the carpets are stained.”
First-year Jessica Wu also claims that “the mice that are running around” are a big issue, combined with “the cleanliness…even before we were moving in, the rugs were looking… a little dirty. There were definitely stains on them…there was a moldy smell in the room before I even moved in.”
Star Mertzman ’28, also from the third floor, adds, “the fact that this is happening is concerning…it doesn’t seem like things are being done about it,” when discussing the bat situation. Furthermore, she mentions that there are posters in the laundry room explaining how to pay for laundry, something that has not been required in “well over a decade.” Ultimately, she says it would “be greatly appreciated by the student body if renovations were to be done.” They argue that “there are things that need to change,” such as the lack of shower space in Barclay and other dorms, calling it “really concerning; especially considering how much some of us are paying for this college.”
Jones was built in the 1960s, aiming to reinforce the idea that Haverford should remain an all-male campus. These ideas can be seen throughout the building today. Each of the four floors contain one bathroom that, while coed now, was designed only for men. This is demonstrated through the one shower room, a room in the bathroom containing two shower heads but no divider between them, making all of the residents shower together. However, some students appear to be having issues elsewhere by living there.
Third floor resident Kieran Doyle ’28 highlights the lack of communal spaces, saying that “we don’t have common rooms…everybody just sits in the hallway.” They explain that “originally the doubles in Jones were the common rooms for each suite. So, in order for them to have a common room for the entire hall, they’d have to not use one of the now doubles as a bedroom.” Additionally, Doyle argues that Jones is not wheelchair accessible: “It’s stairs all the way up.” They point out that this is an issue for anybody who uses a wheelchair or crutches, a problem compounded by narrow hallways. Jones also seems to have many more issues. One of these is that there are large gaps underneath some of the doors, making for poor noise cancellation from the hallways. In addition to this, the windows that face the upperclassmen dorms Lunt and Comfort have to deal with the noise from outside and even sometimes inside the dorms throughout the week.
Gummere residents also hope for renovation. Many residents reported problems with the bathrooms and insects. Section 1/1 resident Euginia Dengah ’28 reports that the bathroom is “really dirty and nasty” and that “the ceilings are not great. I think they need to fix it.” Additionally, first-year Ariana Huffman states that “Gum[mere] has a lot of issues. I was told that it was the dorm with character before I even got here, and I think that says something about the dorm.” Throughout campus, many students refer to Gummere as being the worst dorm, alleging that it transmits diseases, which have been nicknamed “The Gum Plague.” Huffman also says that she has “seen little silverfish running across my bathroom floor…and our bathroom flooded a little bit, just a couple of days ago.” Although in different sections, both residents think that the bathrooms are the worst part about the dorm. Huffman believes the school should renovate them, explaining that “it’s our first year here, and it really shows us how the Haverford dorms are…that really says something about the rest of the Haverford dorms.”
Finally, we have Tritton, the newest out of all of the dorms, being constructed in 2012. Despite its age, many have started to notice flaws. Paris Lawson ’28 from Tritton Lower West discusses how “it’s not connected on the inside, and it makes it weirdly not accessible… It’s just a little strange that they’re not connected from within, and that you have to go the whole way out and around.” Alex Delgado ’28 also pointed out that some sink handles are mislabeled. Furthermore, Diego Zuniga ’28 claims that he found cockroaches in the washer when he did his laundry. Although Tritton is on the newer side, it still presents issues for its residents. Some question if Tritton should get renovated even though it is so new. Lawson makes the point that, “You should be comfortable there and it should be a place that you want to spend time. It’s where students live, that becomes their place on campus where they do homework, they meet with friends, and even eat sometimes.”
Adjusting to college and dormitory life can be a challenge for some, and it highlights some key issues students have with Haverford dorms. Some students believe the school should redesign some of these dorms to better the quality of life for students. They argue it will also benefit first-years, reaffirming their choice of Haverford as their college. If these students are successful, maybe in the future students will put away their mouse traps, have stairs/elevators in Tritton to connect them to their friends, and perhaps even enjoy a better college experience.
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