Jonah Glass | Contributing Photographer

We’ve all heard the Village vs. South 40 debate, but this year, there was another option on campus. With the largest WashU freshman class ever, Residential Life needed more dorm space, even after moving many sophomores off the South 40 and into typically upperclassman housing in the Village. Administrative assignment is always a toss-up. Many people get assigned to roommates and buildings they end up loving; others have horror stories. This year, about 28 people, myself included, were assigned to House 1 — the first house on Wash U’s frat row, which was used as fraternity housing until last year. 

While administrative assignment made this housing decision for us, there are many reasons someone might choose to live in chapter housing, whether or not they have an interest in Greek life. For one, the chapter houses are mostly single dorms. 

For anyone whose roommate experience has scared them off of roommates or even suites, the frat houses are the only dorms on the Village side of campus with single non-suite dorming options. 

Frat row is the closest residential area to everything on campus as well. As soon as you step out the door, you’re on campus; Village dining is only a parking garage away; and Sumers Rec Center is so close it’s like having a gym in your backyard. As someone who loves to sleep in, the five-minute walk to my classes in Seigle Hall has spoiled me. It’s the easiest area to swing by for a nap, or to pick up/drop off food, books, laptop chargers, etc. in the middle of the day. And for anyone who thinks they’ll be spending a lot of time on Frat Row, the proximity is a plus, rather than a downside.

As someone with no interest in the frats, House 1 wouldn’t have been my first choice. But if you like your weekends surrounded by the sounds of frat house bass and listening to the dulcet calls of “Duuuude!” around midnight, or if you just want to be able to look out of your window and see directly into the life of a frat boy, House 1 is there for all of your frat-adjacent needs.

Of course, if you’re looking for the true Frat Row experience, House 1 lacks one crucial thing: community. Most frat houses are designed with “brotherhood” in mind. In a frat, the whole house would have the feel of a large suite, rather than single, disconnected dorms. The giant empty basement area would have a use — Frat Row is known for its parties, after all. Without that community, the house feels awkward and empty, and the distance from the Village and South 40 communities can feel even more isolating. For some, that may sound good, but for me, the lack of community was a serious drawback.

And it was one of many. If you’ve ever heard the complaints about WashU’s other traditional dorms, the chapter houses are similar. They lack the ritzy amenities of the modern dorms: the facilities are old and in need of repair, the sparse common rooms feel more like waiting rooms than cozy places to study or hang out, and for anyone used to elevators, dragging suitcases up and down the stairs will be a learning curve. When it comes to communal bathrooms, showering a curtain away from exposure isn’t the most relaxing experience, and leaving all of your products by the sink requires a tremendous level of trust. 

Unlike the traditional dorms, the houses are built around a central staircase, not blocked off by doors. This means that every little sound travels through the entire house. The flushing of the toilets, the slam of the doors, the sounds of the paper towel dispensers. Nothing you or anyone else does will be private.

While all of these little annoyances do add up, they don’t necessarily make for a bad living experience. If the location or the parties or the single dorms sound good to you, then small things like paper towel dispensers or stairs aren’t deal-breakers. They’re just flaws like any dorm has — fun to complain about but not life-wrecking — and House 1 may just be the dorm for you. But if proximity to the larger campus communities or modern facilities are important to you, you’d be better off looking elsewhere.