Dorm Life

Dorm Overview

MSSM’s dormitory is not just the hub of activities on campus, it is also home to the majority of the Residential Life team and is students’ home away from home. With separate wings for male and female students, common areas for study and play, offices for the Residential Life and Maintenance teams, a wing for the Health Services Department, and laundry facilities for students and staff it is a hub for all things pertaining to the residential life experience.

Wings

The dormitory features four student wings and students live on either male or female assigned wings. Wings are connected by large common areas within the dormitory and each wing also features two to three small common areas for residents to use. Wings feature individual style bathrooms to allow for privacy and cleanliness. Each wing has one or more residential life staff members, called Resident Instructors (RIs), who live on the wing with the students. The RI is responsible for providing a safe, homelike environment to students. They do this through planning specific wing events, wing meetings, mentoring, and serving as their wing residents’ point or go to person. Additionally, designated student leaders, called Resident Assistants (RAs) also live on the wings and work closely with their RIs to help meet students’ needs.

Dorm Rooms

Student rooms are made up of primarily double and quad occupancy dorm rooms. The dormitory does have a few single occupancy rooms and depending on annual dormitory capacity, some quads are sometimes downgraded to triples. Generally, most first year students live in quads, but some are matched with returning student roommates in doubles as well. On average, student rooms allow for about ninety square feet for each student.

Furniture wise, each student is provided with a bed, a five drawer dresser, an armoire, and a desk with a chair. Double rooms have a small bed stand that is shared by roommates. Quads have two sets of bunks to optimize floor space. All beds are bunkable and their height easily adjusts to suit student’s preferences. Students are welcome to decorate their dorm spaces with plants, wall hangings, photos, area rugs, and more to make them homey and welcoming. Guidelines and expectations for decor are outlined in the MSSM Community Handbook.

In general, most students prefer to bunk their beds. This allows for a little more free floor space for visiting with friends or adding some extra furniture to their room (with approval from the Residential Life team).

Common Areas

MSSM’s dormitory has several common areas for student use. The upper lobby, lower lounge, and dorm gym are all large areas where students can gather to play games, exercise, study, or just hang out. The lower lounge and gym tend to be the host locations for monthly wing nights and other large scale campus events. Each residential wing of the dorm also features two or more small wing lounges that are primarily used for studying or quiet space. Each of these lounges is furnished with desks, tables, couches, and whiteboards. We have a community kitchen for student’s use. This is used for everything from cooking club, to friends gathering for dinner, to student birthday parties. It’s one of the most heavily used spaces in the dorm! In addition to the spaces for studies and fun, other common areas include laundry facilities for students and resident staff, music practice space, and student mailboxes for letters and many packages.