After deciding to enter the unpredictable housing lottery this previous year, my two roommates and I were thrilled to be placed in the newest building on campus. This building, Avery Dulles Hall, was named after an American Jesuit, Avery Robert Dulles. The drive up to the front entrance of Dulles Hall looks promising, as large floor-to-ceiling windows occupy almost the entire building. The exterior of Dulles Hall has inviting landscaping, as well as modern, overhanging pergola-like structures. After entering the building for the first time, I was immediately hit with the smell of new furniture, new carpeting and overall cleanliness. Eagerly riding the elevator up to the top floor, I looked left and then right to determine how expansive the newly constructed dormitory building actually was. Multiple study rooms and an inviting main lounge with a comfortable sofa call for students to study within its walls.
My excitement quickly diminished after swiping my Stag Card, punching in my four-digit PIN code, and enthusiastically swinging open the door to peer inside my brand-new sophomore dorm room. The bunked beds, shallow floor space and shrunken furniture was extremely surprising to say the least. I would be lying if a tear did not trickle down my face after the initial shock of the sheer crampedness of the room. I was immediately confused as to why an entirely new residence building was constructed specifically for triples, as Fairfield University Residence Life states. Even though the rooms were constructed for triples, they were made cripplingly small. Also, Dulles Hall is the only strictly sophomore dorm building with communal bathrooms. Three sinks, three stalls and three showers to share amongst 30 people make it almost impossible to brush your teeth in the early morning hours without having to wait in a line.
Each Dulles Hall room is decorated with gray, vinyl hardwood flooring and an expansive window positioned on the back wall. Tiled ceilings and neutral-colored cream walls give the room an inviting touch, yet sophomore Liana Ahmetaj living on the first floor of Dulles Hall, describes the layout of the bathrooms as, “funny and weird.” Ahmetaj is also a resident who was placed in round three of the housing lottery and was selected to live in Avery Dulles Hall. Ahmetaj says, “the building is appealing to look at and the hardwood flooring is nice, although the room feels like the same size as my freshman dorm. I would have expected [ResLife] to have made the rooms bigger if the rooms were meant for three people.” Ahmetaj recalled an incident she saw in the bathroom where multiple girls were using one sink to brush their teeth due to all other sinks being occupied.
With no expectations in mind before moving into her single Dulles Hall room, RA, Devone Martin ‘25, says she was pleasantly surprised by the newly constructed building on Fairfield’s campus. Martin says she, “loves the idea of a new building,” because in other, older resident buildings, “you feel like someone has lived there before, but not here.” At this point in the semester, Martin does not have any complaints, as there is a “good community and good residents.” “Bright lighting,” was a recurring topic brought up by Martin, as she says it is her favorite feature of the building.
My roommates and I’s go-to adjective to describe our Avery Dulles room is “cozy,” and I feel it fits the room perfectly. Although not perfect, we have created a comfortable living space in Dulles Hall in the best way we could. While some residents and residence assistants feel the new dormitory is acceptable, I feel the room size is just too small to accommodate three beds, three desks, three dressers, three closets, plus three people. The uncomfortable living conditions and small room size would be expected as a first-year student, yet as a soon-to-be upperclassman, one would assume housing accommodations would be improved. Take a stroll to the far end of campus in order to determine for yourself if Avery Dulles Hall is as dull as some of the new residents are claiming.
Editor-in-Chief Max Limric is a Resident Assistant, and thus did not read, edit or have any part in the creation of this article before publication.
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