Written by Michael Lis-Sette
It really can’t be said that there is a bad dorm at Seattle University, though opinions about which is the “best” and which is the “worst” do vary. You are required to live on campus during your freshmen and sophomore years, though sophomores are sometimes able to get exemptions that allow them to move off campus, and many would probably like to see this requirement lifted as a means of reducing the housing problem on campus. And it can be a problem, as it is rare for a floor in any dorm not to have to have its lounge turned into a quad for half of the year. There are rarely any hard feelings because of this, however, as students who live there are mostly required to let people have access to the cooking facilities. It’s up to residents to clean their own rooms, and the maintenance staff are not your nannies. Frequent damages or problems get added to a bill that everyone on the floor has to contribute to at the end of the year when the person directly responsible can’t be identified.
As for the dorms themselves, Bellarmine is generally rated the highest due to its centralized location on campus. Campion is generally seen as the “social dorm,” with its large population and greater propensity to party than elsewhere. Xavier is seen as off the beaten path, and its residents tend to form their own sub-community with rather intense social bonds. Chardin is still a bit new to have any hard perceptions about it, but some would say the people there tend to be a bit quieter than elsewhere. And for upperclassmen there are always the Murphy Apartments and Logan Court, which offer the independence of apartment living but are still connected to campus. The dorms all come well equipped, and many people end up bunking their beds so they’ll have the room to put in anything from a couch to a large TV. The bathrooms can be interesting, especially when people stumble back from a party at 1 a.m. on a Saturday, but they are almost always clean and well-maintained (thanks to the amazing support staff). You might look forward to getting out on your own, but once you leave, you’ll realize how important dorm life is to the Seattle University experience.