Students living on the South 40 enjoy some of the best residential facilities in the nation. Aside from beds and bathrooms, each dormitory on the 40 boasts a number of amenities that help make students’ lives easier and more social.
But don’t get stuck with just what your dorm has to offer; get out and explore other dorms. Even if you don’t live on the 40, you never know when you’ll be in the area looking for a game of pool or a room for group study.
So, for studying, practicing music and more, here’s a brief guide to what is available on the 40.
Every dorm has laundry rooms, soda machines and kitchens. While the newer dorms have more common rooms on the individual floors, every dorm on the South 40 provides its students with ample space to gather or get away from distracting roommates.
These rooms include study rooms, libraries, multipurpose rooms and lounges. Yet, the dorms on the 40 have amenities that go way beyond extra-long beds and laundry machines. Along with their separate traditions, every residential college on the South 40 possesses its own mix of special bonuses for students.
Dauten, Rutledge and Shanedling (JKL): This residential college is made up of traditional upperclassmen suites with balconies and is situated around JKL plaza. The dormitories boast quite a few resources for students with a creative edge. There are music practice rooms in Dauten and Rutledge. Rutledge also has a dance studio, a darkroom and the residential college’s computer lab on its bottom floor. For students who really want to cook, the Dauten kitchen is the place to be. It has a working stove as well as a dishwasher. A pool table is found in the same Dauten lounge as the kitchen. And for students who just want a quick snack, there is a vending machine in Shanedling.
Park/Mudd: This residential college is commonly named the premier upperclassman dorm on the 40. The two dorms are connected by an interior corridor. Traveling down this hall, students can find multiple common rooms and seminar rooms, perfect for studying alone or in a group. The computer lab is located at the Park end of the hallway. At the Mudd end of the hallway is a large library and a big lounge with a television and leather sofas. Mudd also has a spacious multipurpose room that can be divided into two sections. It can be a dance practice room, a meeting space or a banquet space and can be reserved by student groups.
Wayman Crow: A sizable patch of grass graced with hammocks divides the two dorms in the Wayman Crow residential college. Both buildings have large lounges with fireplaces on their bottom floors. The two buildings also have second story entrances with patio-like spaces. Dardick has the residential college’s computer lab as well as lots of meeting spaces. There is a music practice room located in the dorm’s multipurpose room. The basement of Dardick houses the Habif Health and Wellness Center, the prime resource on campus for students with health concerns. Nemerov has both a pool table and a ping-pong table in its common spaces.
William Greenleaf Eliot (WGE): The WGE residential college hugs the edge of the Swamp that is opposite Bear’s Den. In front of Shepley there are several hammocks. Both Shepley and Wheeler are traditional suite-style houses with beautiful staircases in the middle of the huge common rooms on their bottom floors. There are a lot of bike racks next to the dorms in this residential college. Danforth has the college’s computer lab, as well as a great study room with practically arranged tables and lamps. There is a pool table in one of the Danforth 1 common rooms.
Hitzeman, Myers, Hurd and Eliot (HIGE): HIGE has three traditional upperclassman dorms – Hitzeman, Hurd and Myers, each of which has balconies. There is also Eliot, a modern suite-style dorm that is housing freshmen this year. Both Myers and Hurd have music practice rooms. Additionally, Hurd contains a mail center that stores and distributes the overflow mail from the Wohl Center mailroom. There are computer labs in both Hurd and Eliot.
Rublemann/Umrath: The Ruby/Umrath residential college is made up of two traditional-style freshmen dorms. There is a foosball table in Ruby and a pool table in Umrath. Both dorms have lounges with televisions and a computer. Ruby has additional computers in its computer lab. The Social Justice Center is located on Umrath 0, and the Center runs programming on social justice and diversity. It’s open Sunday through Thursday from 6 to 10 in the evening.
Lee/Beaumont:Lee and Beaumont both have floor plans with a lot of twists and turns. Lee houses the residential college’s computer lab. For gamers, there is a foosball table in Lee and a ping-pong table in Beaumont. There is also a convenient covered walkway that connects Beaumont to Rublemann, great for getting around the 40 when it’s cold or rainy.
Liggett/Koenig: The recently constructed Liggett/Koenig residential college, aside from its spectacular architecture, boasts a number of luxurious extras. The huge common area that connects the two dorms has leather sofas and a giant television. There is a complete kitchen in the lower level of the building. Also, there is a game room for foosball and ping pong tables and a music practice room on its lower level.
Robert S. Brookings: Both dorms in the Brookings residential college are conveniently located near important campus services. Lien sits on top of Ursa’s, which opens at night to serve crepes, sundaes and more. It also rests atop the residential life office. Gregg is found directly above ResTech and the several student-run businesses that line the walk from the 40 to the Danforth campus. There is a computer room in Lien, and Gregg has foosball, ping-pong and air hockey tables on its second floor.