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The 'Suite' Life

Just like the students housed within them, Princeton dorms are immensely diverse.

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Across campus, one can find a whole range of differently-sized rooms: singles, doubles, triples, quads, two-floor quads, quints, and so on, until the 11-person suite in Wilson College. Dorms could have AC, hot water dispensers, or just a great view. It could have been inhabited by a hundred, or only a few students prior to this year. In any case, dorms can deeply influence a student's life on campus, affecting everything from their daily routines, to friend groups, to classes chosen. So how do dorm experiences vary?

One unique dorm is the eight-person suite, which can consist of either four doubles or four singles and two doubles that are attached to a spacious common room and a private bathroom. Nebil Ibrahim ’20, who lives in one of these dorms, believes that there are more positives than negatives to living with seven roommates.

He noted that although “this is a nice space for communal work because you have maybe three or four people working on the exact same pset” he would “definitely go somewhere else to study.” Additionally, Ibrahim said that one of the drawbacks of the suite is the fact that they all have to share one bathroom. He explained that he had previously been to an eight-person suite during Princeton Preview, which had two bathrooms. “I had the same expectation, but then I looked at the floor plan,” he added.

“You really get a network that you can rely on and you also meet a lot of people from different places,” said Charles Kwitchoff ’20 who also lives in an eight-person suite. He shared that three of his seven roommates are international students, coming from Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine. Kwitchoff also mentioned that he has a private bathroom and said, “we have to clean it and that’s a bit of a pain.”

However, for the most part, Kwtichoff explained that on a day-to-day basis his room doesn’t really play a huge role in his life, and he mostly only uses it as a stopover point if he has a long interval between classes.

Meanwhile, 230 Pyne Hall, the smallest dorm on campus, is a single measuring 82 square feet. Pyne Hall was the first interwar dorm built to address the growing population on campus in 1922, and is also where the 2nd smallest and 4th smallest singles are located, which take up 84 and 88 square feet, respectively. As an added note, the adjacent printing room is the exact same size, but also features an extra window.

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Justinas Mickus ’18, who currently resides at 230 Pyne Hall, said that he didn't actually have the worst draw time but said that he chose the room because he wanted to have a single in the building. He noted that he would ideally live off campus, but added, “Pyne is one of the most beautiful buildings, especially in the spring.”

To some, a dorm may just be a place to sleep, but to others, a dorm may be slowly turning into a new home. No matter what we think of our dorms, it’s clear that they are unique spaces that can affect our daily lives, and even our future plans.

In regards to his eight-person suite, Kwitchoff added, “I think it’s a little too much.” He said that when considering spaces next year, he would like to have a quad or a single.

On the other hand, Ibrahim noted, “I feel like after having an eight-person suite, having a single would be very lonely.” He added that at this point, he hopes to have another eight-person suite or get a quad in the year to come.

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