The days of living in cramped dorm rooms and flip-flopping down the hallway toting a shower caddy will be only a memory for some hardworking students on the Gorham campus come next semester.
The University is implementing a new formula to decide who will get to live in Gorham’s new residence hall this fall. Students with high G.P.A.s and credit hours will be given priority over students with fewer credit hours and lower G.P.A.s. in hopes of attracting upperclassmen to the dorms.
“We think upperclassmen want to live with upperclassmen,” said Joe Austin, director of Gorham Student Life. “We decided to build the new dorm for capacity reasons and also to diversify housing. Through focus groups we found that suite-style housing was attractive to upperclassmen.”
Laura McMahan, a senior art education major, thinks the idea of taking a student’s G.P.A. into consideration is a good one.
“If you do well in school then you should be rewarded,” said McMahan. “An upperclassmen dorm seems like a good idea because it will probably be a little more centered around studying, and more calm.”
The new residence hall will house 221 students in a combination of suite-style rooms and singles and doubles. Each suite consists of a living room equipped with a micro-fridge, sink, private bathroom, and 1-4 bedrooms. In addition, all bedrooms have computer jacks and phone jacks.
The single and double rooms are located in separate wings. Each room will have a micro-fridge and each wing will have its own bathroom and lounge.
All lounges will be equipped with multiple computer jacks that will allow students to network with other students hooked up in the lounge. A laundry room will be located on the ground floor of the four-story building and study areas will be scattered throughout the dorm. Tours of the building are being given every Friday this semester.
Although smoking will be prohibited in the building, the new dorm and Robie Andrews Hall will be the only dorms where drinking will be allowed this fall.
Becky Berry, a junior criminology major, plans on living in the new dorm this fall.
“The layout is nice. It will be a new experience. I took a tour of the building a couple weeks ago and it seems to be coming along really well,” she said.
The cost to live in the new dorm has not yet been determined.
“The price will probably be similar to Portland Hall, but a little higher because it is newer and the facilities are better,” said Mike Mullett, assistant director of Gorham Student Life.
Room selection for the new residence hall will take place Friday, April 13 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the Hastings Informal Lounge.
Any current student, resident or commuter, can participate. A priority number will be assigned to all students upon arrival and room selections will be made according to priority number.
Staff writer Kate Bucklin can be contacted at: [email protected].