Seeing students gathered outside of a building during a fire alarm––some without coats, some without shoes, some half asleep––is a common sight on the South 40. Because of COVID-19 and online classes, students have spent more time in their rooms, increasing the likelihood that they may need to evacuate their building due to a fire alarm. Four freshmen share fire alarm stories from their time on the South 40.

The uniformity of the architectural style on Washington University’s campus is a large part of its aesthetic appeal. However, tucked away in the midst of Wash. U.’s charming medieval environs are some quirky—and perhaps even bizarre—elements.

On the site of the former Rubelmann Hall, a new building is being constructed—but it’s not a new Ruby. The building will be an extension of the already-standing Umrath House, and will share Umrath’s name. Administrators hope that connecting the buildings will help freshmen living in the Residential College interact more.

Due to legal restrictions, the extension to Umrath House, to be completed next year, will not be able to fill all of its 188 available beds.

With the status of a new bar and grill on the Washington University campus up in the air, the space in the Umrath Hall basement remains vacant. With no clear replacement for past tenants Subway and the Umrathskellar, we took it upon ourselves to come up with a responsible, pragmatic and fiscally conservative replacement.

See, my room is special. I’m a sophomore, yes, but I don’t live in a suite.

The new Umrath dormitory is missing something: computers. Students going into the lab may have noticed an empty space where four Macs used to be. Thursday just before noon, Residential Life (ResLife) officials conducted brief visual searches of rooms in Umrath, looking for four Mac desktop computers that were reported missing from Umrath. There were still two computers left in the lab.

All traditional freshman dorms on the South 40 will eventually be replaced by modern-style ones as a part of an ongoing process by Washington University to enhance the residential life experience. The current Rubelmann Hall, followed by Beaumont and Lee, are slated for demolition, according to Justin Carroll, assistant vice chancellor for students and dean of students.

At the Student Union Senate meeting last Wednesday, the architects of the construction project on the South 40 explained details about what the finished project will look like and what students should expect.