Wednesday, March 16, 2005
The University of Kansas has been Malakai Edison’s home since he was in junior high.
While many upperclassmen choose to live in an apartment or house off-campus, Edison, Olathe senior, has lived in the residence halls for the past four years. He lived in McCollum Hall as a freshman and has been a Hashinger Hall resident as a sophomore, junior and senior.
“I remember being in the eighth grade and thinking, ‘Living in Hash would be the coolest thing to ever happen to me!’” Edison said.
Edison’s wish was granted his sophomore year. He had enjoyed his stay at McCollum, but he said that the atmosphere and the community aspect of Hashinger made him want to return year after year.
Roughly 15 to 20 percent of the University’s 3,500 hall residents are returning upperclassmen, said Diana Robertson, associate director of student housing. The environment is one of the many factors that attract upperclassmen to the halls.
“The convenience factor is certainly a reason to return,” Robertson said. “Dorms are close to campus, close to activities and close to other people.”
Robertson also said that for many upperclassmen, the location of the bus route played a major role in their decision to return. For students without cars, the bus system is a large benefit of living on campus. But location and atmosphere aren’t the only aspects of halls that returning residents look for.
“Living in the dorms is very cost-effective,” Robertson said. “Between the convenience and the cost, you can’t really find a better value.”
Beth Kimberly, Fairway senior, will be graduating this fall. During her years at the University, she has lived in four different residence halls and also spent a semester in the on-campus Jayhawker Towers Apartments. The cost of room and board was the deciding factor for Kimberly to stay on campus.
She lived in a single room at GSP-Corbin Hall her freshman year.
“My older sister had stayed in a single, so I figured I would like it too,” she said.
But Kimberly missed the community aspect of dorm life.
“I grew up in a family of six, so I was always around other people,” she said.
Kimberly returned as a sophomore to the Jayhawker Towers with four other roommates. She said it was the cheapest living arrangement on campus.
Like Edison, Kimberly also enjoyed living with other KU students.
Edison said dealing with the freshman class required patience and an attitude that was receptive to change.
“Don’t expect things to be the same,” he said. “There’s a tendency to say things like, ‘This is how it’s going to be done, because this is how it was last year.’ Don’t push a dynamic on new residents.”
He also said that upperclassmen needed to understand that freshmen desire to create their own identity.
“It’s important to keep traditions, but you have to let each new class come through and build their own community,” he said. “Take things as they come.”
Both seniors said they would most miss the atmosphere of community in the residence halls when they finally left the University.
“The whole place is my house,” Edison said. “It’s like a mansion. Two-hundred fifty people live here and we’re all in the same family.”
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