What’s the vibe? Party? Quiet? Mixed? I’ve seen the virtual tour, but what did you think of the rooms and facilities? Any tips on move-in or room setup?
To answer my own question, the facilities at the new Wassaja Hall are impressive. 2017-2018 is the 2nd year of operation. In one News-Gazette article, the rooms were touted as 25% larger than the standard dorm room, but they seem pretty typical to me. The main difference is that everything is brand new everywhere, from the beds to the lounge furniture.
Each of the 4 floors is divided into 3 main halls in a large “T” with a large lounge where they meet at the stairs and elevators. Each of the 3 main halls on each floor has its own Resident Advisor. At the center of each main hall is a smaller open lounge and a closed study area.
The odd thing is that the individual rooms do not have doors on the main halls. Instead, there are 4 small hallways off each main hall that form smaller “T” sections. Each of these 4 sections are “pods” of 6 or 7 dorm rooms and 4 individual use bathrooms. Each pod houses 10-13 people. Most rooms are doubles, though one end room in each pod may be a single.
Individual rooms in each pod may be for men or women. There are also accessible and gender inclusive rooms for those who request them. In the standard double are two loftable twin beds, two lockable closets, two small dressers with 3 drawers, two pedestals with 3 drawers, 2 desks and two bookcases. Everything is sort of modular, for example, the desks and dressers could be moved together to form a larger surface area all the same height. There is one extra shelf you can hang from the bed frame or elsewhere. Each room has individual central heat/air controls, cable tv, two ethernet ports and at least 20 outlets in banks of 4 outlets each, and some have USB charging ports as well.
The four individual use bathrooms are shared by the entire pod and locked from the inside. All have automated toilets, showers and sinks. They are not reserved by gender. Two of the four appear to be accessible bathrooms. Technically, if all four bathrooms were full, you could use one from the adjacent pod or really anywhere in Wassaja, as they are not keyed from the outside. Each floor and the main doors are keyed by student ID, of course.
Having lived at ISR a long time ago and having used community style bathrooms, I can appreciate not being forced to deal with the few crude and inconsiderate people on each floor. The setup in Wassaja seems very nice in that regard. On the other hand, each pod is sort of isolated off the main hall. And the doors are self-closing, meaning you need a doorstop or bungee or something to hold them open to invite guests. This makes it seem like it would be less social that a typical dorm, though almost certainly a lot quieter than the old Forbes Hall in the 6-pack that it replaced.