By Melanie Delfosse, Vivien Dobrescu, and Sanika Saraf
As we near the end of the fall semester, many Cornell freshmen have begun to settle into their new lives on North Campus. While not everyone is ready to call Ithaca home, three months upstate means most routines have become concrete. The social atmosphere on North varies with each residential building: where students live has truly informed their early college habits. Here’s a rundown of freshman dorm culture from the freshman Class of 2028 themselves.
After its renovation, Balch Hall is commonly compared to a hotel, with clean hallways and a traditional dorm style of doors along a hallway and communal bathrooms. As an all-women’s dorm, it can be a shock whenever a man is spotted inside, though they are allowed in as a guest to a resident. Described as less social, with most keeping to themselves, Balch offers a beautiful Gothic exterior and temperature-controlled rooms. It is perfect for our flip-flop Ithaca weather, accommodating the heat and future cold.
Clara Dickson is North Campus’s largest and largest dorm in the Ivy League. Additionally, the only dorm on North houses all students, even upperclassmen. Ella George ’28 spoke to the luxury of having your own space in this hall. “Most people have a single dorm so that you can go back to your own room at the end of the night,” she said.
Despite the communal bathrooms, the lack of AC, and slanted ceilings, Dickson has been described as having a “homey” atmosphere. It’s quieter than most other dorms, but the small lounges provide opportunities to talk to neighbors. While not the fanciest or funniest, at least Dickson’s residents have walk-in closets.
Court-Kay-Bauer, a “new-ish” dorm, is certainly appreciated for the more private pod bathrooms and has a pretty enough sky bridge as an added perk. Your social scene and excitement within the dorm will depend on your RA and what’s happening: some residents experienced a particularly loud night earlier in the semester when a bat made it into the sky bridge. Groups of students can be seen frequently in the lounge areas studying, watching movies, playing the piano, or participating in organized activities organized by the dorm, as CKB offers an easy and comfortable way to hang out with friends.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg Hall resembles a sterile Marriott Courtyard Hotel. With a new, modern exterior, large window panes for natural light, polished wooden floors and Novick’s Cafe on the first floor, RBG’s residents live in quiet luxury. The pod-style rooms make the hallways silent most of the day, but according to Katie Kim ’28, this varies depending on who your neighbors are.
“Personally, my pod is really social. We all know each other and study together a lot,” she said. The RBG experience is flexible and “can be what you want to be.”
High Rise 5 is conveniently located near RPCC, Morrison, and the RPCC bus stop, guaranteeing immediate access to 2 a.m. chicken tenders and the TCAT bus system. What sets High Rise 5 apart, however, is the luxurious Sky Lounge on the top floor. Serena Kielley, ’28, recalls fond memories of the Sky Lounge and how she made friends there.
“At the beginning of the year, I was able to find many amazing people in the top-floor Sky Lounge, which truly made my experience at Cornell wonderful,” she said. She also highlighted the kindness and humor of the building staff, along with the popularity of the ping pong tables, which contribute to the welcoming atmosphere of High Rise 5.”
Hu Shih is one of the newer dorms on North Campus for new students. With numerous large spacious lounges and study spaces and its large size, Hu Shih is often quite lively. The only con to living in Huh Shih, along with the other new dorms, is that it is often described as sterile. According to Charlotte Tama ‘28, Hu Shih is a very new dorm, so it doesn’t feel as homey as some older dorms.
“Sometimes certain floors can be isolating because they’re less social and there’s not as much trauma bonding from living in an old dorm.” Hu Shih is also one of the farthest dorms from Central campus, but you’ll always find someone studying, watching TV, or playing the piano.
While Jameson is one of the older dorms, it’s in a prime spot on North Campus, only a short walk to Morrison Dining Hall, RPCC, and A Lot for students who have a car on campus. Much like High Rise 5, Jameson is also equipped with a Sky Lounge, where Belen Okezie ’28 spends plenty of time.
“I’m often there with friends to study or just play ping pong, and the views of North Campus are especially stunning now in the fall,” she said.
Dorms are arranged in pods, and students often take advantage of the lounges on each floor to make the space lively and fun. Its residents frequently enjoy dorm parties with music from their DJ on the 3rd floor. While Jameson doesn’t have AC, Okezie thinks Ithaca’s cooler climate makes it manageable. “Even though orientation week was a little rough with no AC in the early heat, now that it’s cooler, my room is comfortable, so it’s easy to overlook. All in all, Jameson has genuinely become a cozy and welcoming home at Cornell,” she told the Sun.
Low Rise 6 is not one of the nicest-looking dorms with its drab brick exterior. Similarly, its interior could be considered lackluster, with no AC, low ceilings, and a quarter of its washing machines broken for the past two weeks. However, the community defines the Low Rise 6 experience. The pod format of the rooms makes it easy for people to meet. Its residents always leave their doors open or convene in its lounges to study together or to hang out. The warm and social community at Low Rise 6 partially makes up for its architectural shortcomings.
Although Low Rise 7 is often regarded as one of the less desirable dorms due to its lack of air conditioning, elevators, and proper kitchens, many freshmen have reportedly developed close-knit communities within this older dorm. Mia Su, ’28, observes that freshmen regularly hang out in common spaces each night.
“Residents on the same floor gather in the lounge to study and spend time together, creating a friendly, supportive environment,” she said. Low Rise 7 is also nestled near several Program Houses on North Campus, allowing students to develop connections with others beyond the residents of Low Rise 7.
Mary Donlon Hall, often described as the “social dorm,” lives up to its reputation this year. There seems to never be a dull moment in Donlon. “It’s very energetic,” Jose Eduardo Romeo, ’28, commented when asked to describe Donlon in one word. Despite its unattractive fidget-spinner exterior, moldy communal showers, and gross carpeted floors, Donlon is alive at all hours when its tenants are wreaking havoc by screaming in the library at 2 a.m. on a Wednesday.
Donlon has a highly chaotic culture, from unscrewing doors to throwing up on the floors. However, as Lila Chami ’28 describes, this chaos creates a “very close-knit community. “
“Everyone in Donlon knows if you’re in Donlon,” she said. Though stuffy and run-down, Donlon is the number one place to be if you’re bored and want a random side quest.
With Balch re-opened, McClintock is mixed-gender and is one of the newer, fancier dorms (built in 2022), offering easy access to Appel Commons and North Star Dining, and has pod-style rooms. The dorm experience varies individually, with some touting a social dorm and others citing a lack of community. Either way, there is a constantly crowded main floor common space, and some RA-sponsored events are being advertised at any time. Chloe Moss, ’28, remarked that “everyone seems like an athlete or very studious,” and the thin walls of the hall mean that, along with the sociality, it’s easy to hear other people’s conversations and going on from your room.
Mews Hall, best described as the identical counterpart of CKB to those familiar with North Campus, is a happy medium. Opened in 2000, Mews is considerably newer than its older neighbors, such as Donlon Hall, but still older than the new dorms, which all opened around 2021 to 2022. Mews is often described as very homey and worn in. It is much less sterile than RBG, which sits next door but still new enough for comfort. Rooms are arranged in singles and double pods with Loving House – a residence space dedicated to Cornell’s LGBTQIA+ students – on the first floor. Mews is described as pretty quiet but still reasonably social, with many students taking advantage of the courtyard and proximity to Appel and the Helen Newman bus stop, as described by Sarah Eagen ’28.
“Mews is also a pretty big dorm but it’s split in half which makes it feel smaller so that everyone has their own wing and any noisy students are diluted,” she said. Another plus for Mews is that it is one of the dorms closer to Central, making the trek up the hill from classes a bit more bearable.
Overall, each freshman dorm has its unique culture, which shows how diverse the Cornell experience can be. From late-night yelling in the Donlon lounge to spending all your BRBs in RBG’s Novicks, every freshman can hopefully call their dorm a community or maybe even a home.
Delfosse, Dobrescu and Saraf are Sun Lifestyle Contributors in the Class of 2028. They can be reached at [email protected].