Enhance privateness in dorms

Residence halls are sometimes seen because the greatest housing choice due to the benefits they provide to college students. For instance, they permit residents to be extra academically engaged due to proximity to assets. UT even encourages freshmen to contemplate dwelling in College residence halls, however with a view to even entice residents, all dorms have to be as much as par.

There are at the moment 15 residence halls on campus. The College claims to “present clear, enticing, secure services for campus residents,” however curtains as a substitute of doorways for communal showers is neither enticing nor does it go away residents feeling secure.

The College must renovate residence corridor dorms by altering communal showers curtains to doorways to extend scholar privateness and luxury. 

The truth that some communal showers in residence halls have doorways whereas others have curtains isn’t honest to college students. Whether or not or not a communal bathe has doorways may also rely on the ground inside a particular dorm. This inconsistency creates unequal requirements of privateness. Some college students are involved with this lack of privateness, and if the scenario doesn’t enhance, it might probably flip away potential on-campus residents. 

Enterprise honors freshman Ramya Nambala stated the College may very well be discouraging college students from dwelling in residence halls with the present setup of communal showers.

“(Communal) loos and the dearth of safety inside them makes folks extra hesitant to decide on that dorm,” Nambala stated.

Making a secure and welcoming atmosphere for all college students must be a high precedence for the College. Present dorm residents won’t really feel safe utilizing communal showers, as college students have cited quite a few embarrassing occurrences previously. 

“There’s one incident the place I had the curtain closed and somebody needed to examine and see if there was any person within the bathe I used to be in. The curtain was barely open and that was actually awkward. (Bathe doorways) would make issues much more snug,” Nambala stated.

As many as 70% of college college students develop emotions of homesickness. It’s already onerous sufficient for college kids to depart residence in pursuit of their research; it shouldn’t must be uncomfortable too.

Don Ates, director of residential services for UT Housing and Eating, stated the price range constricts sure renovation initiatives however that the College has been taking a look at attainable methods to extend privateness in dorms due to previous scholar issues. 

“Anytime we hear any issues from college students, we take them very significantly. … We all the time search for alternatives to renovate to attempt to meet scholar wants,” Ates stated.

The most effective resolution to deal with these scholar issues is with bathe doorways. It must be a precedence to make the residence halls really feel as home-like and safe as attainable, so college students really feel snug staying in dorms. 

As a way to make residence halls extra enticing and comfy for college kids, the College ought to renovate dorms by altering communal showers to incorporate doorways. All college students deserve the correct to a secure, snug and personal on-campus dwelling expertise. 

DonJuan is a Plan II and economics freshman from Quanah, TX.