Residential Hall Spotlight: The Quad

The Quad

As a first-year, you will be living in one of three residential halls: Sulzberger, Reid, or Brooks. These halls, along with Hewitt Hall, comprise what's known as the Quad.Here's a description of each of the three possibilities.

Sulzberger ("Sulz"): Coveted because of the mere fact that it is the only hallway with air conditioning, which is definitely an asset in those hot summer months.  Although I was lucky enough to be placed in Sulz my first year, the other dorms aren’t too bad temperature wise, just remember to bring a fan!

Sulz/Reid (and how it works!): Sulz, Reid, and Brooks are described as individual halls, but that is technically not the case.  Because of the Sulzberger Tower, a housing option for upperclassmen, the design of The Quad includes a “Sulz” hallway, but also a “Sulz/Reid” hallway that is split up into Sulz (with air conditioning) and Reid (without air conditioning). The Sulz hallway has its own RA, the Sulz/Reid hallway has its own RA, and the Brooks hallway has its own RA.   

 

The room of Alyssa Blackman '17 and Jenna Beers '17 in Sulz/Reid

Brooks: With its own entrance and deep cherry wood doors, Brooks Hall is a great hall to live in.  Although the gate closes at 10 PM and during extreme weather, the secondary entrance gate is a great way to quickly enter The Quad without having to go all the way around to the main gates.  Brooks has its own entrance and elevators, and the Brooks side is also where valuable services and spaces are such as the Brooks Study Lounge, Primary Health Care, Furman Counseling Center, and Well Woman.

My first-year room. (Sorry about the mess!)

Room Size: As Margeaux mentioned in a post earlier, do NOT worry about the roommate selection process; Res Life is generally so spot on.  However, I am also aware that a lot of anxiety stems from how big the room is.  I moved to New York expecting the living-in-a-shoebox scenario that I have often heard about in Manhattan. I can honestly say that is not the case at all.  The rooms are pretty big as far as dorms go, and I have never felt as though I lacked space.    

Sharing a Bathroom: So, yes, you are living with at least one roommate, and, yes, you have to share a bathroom with an entire hallway of people.  Although this may sound like the worst thing in the world right now, there are actually many positives to sharing a bathroom.  There are typically two bathrooms per hall: a gender inclusive one, and a women’s only one.  The set-up is like that of a public bathroom, with various individual stalls and a couple of sinks with mirrors.  There are also showers, and it depends which floor you are on as to whether there is a separate room for just showers or if it is still in the space of the bathroom and sink area.  One thing I really liked about corridor style housing is that you never have to clean your own bathroom (yay)!  Facilities will clean out the bathroom often twice or more a day, which is probably more than you would if you were in charge of cleaning it yourself.  Another thing is that because there are so many bathrooms, showers, and sinks, you probably will never have to wait for one to open up, which is always convenient.

 

The view from my Sulzberger 8th Floor Room

Floor Bonding: One great thing about this corridor style housing set up is that everything is connected.  If you have a friend in Brooks and you live in Sulz, you can just walk through the hallways and get to the room.  At the end of my first year I found that my best Barnard friends were actually the ones that lived on the 8^th floor. We all spent so much time together and it was so easy and convenient to see them.  The corridor style set up is definitely instrumental to hall cohesion among the students who live on your floor, and it’s a really great experience to have all of these friends so easily accessible!

Maria

Sunset at Columbia, as seen from a room in Sulz/Reid

 

Balancing the Demands of Life at Barnard

Good morning, friends! Today I write to you from Joe, the wonder-coffee shop I mentioned in my last post. It’s well lit and right across the street from Barnard, and generally manages to make 8 AM studying somewhat more palatable.  

I suppose that it is somewhat ironic that I am writing about how to manage the demands of a Barnard schedule when, today particularly, I am struggling a little in that regard. But what better way to give you a taste of the excitement and challenges of a difficult course load than to write about it on the day (hehe, one of the days) I’m wrestling with it?

Barnard and Columbia students are known for pushing themselves. This is most likely a large part of why they are here (and why you will soon be here too!), and let me reassure you: they keep it up upon arrival. Though 4-5 courses is more or less considered average, many students take as many as six academic courses along with one or two fun classes (dance, P.E., etc.). That kind of a work load, especially when combined with involvement in clubs, student groups, work and internships, can make life here…exciting.

It really is exciting in a good way: it feels good to learn! However, it also comes hand-in-hand with a certain degree of stress, and it is imperative that you figure out how much of it you can handle and how you can keep your net stress level below that. Fortunately, Barnard will help you do that!

Well Woman: a great resource to help stay balanced!

To begin, there are a variety of services to help you out. There are tutors, help rooms, office hours, and Writing Fellows to help you feel more confident if your concerns are strictly academic. If you wrestle more with the emotional side of it (and don’t we all sometimes?), Well Woman runs an office on campus where you can talk to counselors and trained peer advisers about your situation. From their website: “Stop by our office to talk to a staff member during the day or a peer educator in the evening about anything related to health and wellness, to browse our library, ask questions, or just relax and have a cup of tea. Be well!” And, they host weekly runs in Riverside Park (exercise is the single greatest stress-reliever ever) and a Knitting Club. This kind of support can make all the difference in how you feel about your courses, and our school is here to help us out.

But you can also make some wise choices when you are selecting courses that can save you from a lot of grief later in the semester. This is on the brain recently, as we are in the middle of course registration (“program filing”) now, so here are my top two tips:

1. Try not to spread yourself too thin. I know that the courses are incredible here, but you have four years here, so pace yourself. You will enjoy each course much more (and get more out of it, and have better grades to show for it) if you have the time to give each course the attention it deserves. Also, college courses expect more of you, so don’t worry if four sounds like a light load compared to high school!
2. Think about how to balance reading-intensive, writing-intensive, and problem set-intensive courses. Even if you spend the same amount of time on work, it will feel a lot less daunting if you can mix it up. I have had more than one semester where it feels like all I ever do it read, and—weirdly—throwing a Calculus class into the mix can feel good. Keep that brain moving in multiple directions!

Alright, guys, I’m out. But, as usual, leave me your comments, questions, and concerns; I have fun responding :). And don’t be daunted by this: college is going to be challenging, but it’s also incredibly exciting, motivating, and sometimes downright mind-blowing!

Chloe