On or off da yard? If you had it to do all over again.


Would you recommend new/freshman s

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 88.9%

  • No

    Votes: 3 11.1%
  • Total voters
    27
Bartram

Bartram

Brand HBCUbian
Should freshman have to spend at least two semesters living on campus? In this day and age, a proposal like this would be about as feasible and enforceable as mandatory Sunday morning drill and church at Tuskegee back in the 30s.

Living on the yard is an invaluable part of the college experience I would contend. It's almost like a bonding process in being a part of any group; you are there, you "bond" with the campus, you (hopefully) get involved with campus activities, you learn all of the nuances of the campus, all the history, the traditions, you go to class often traveling by foot/bike or whatever (90% car now days), you learn every inch, every crook & cranny of the campus/buildings/dorms (,,,, especially if you pledge or are a part of any campus organization.)

Being in band and "crabbing" and such, we were up and in front of the cafe (Tompkins Hall) every Saturday morning at 6:00am. Going back to campus years later and walking around campus, all the memories are overwhelming. It's something you will share with other alumns/HBCUers for a lifetime.

I was "on the yard" during a summer program and then freshman and sophomore year. Communal living was no big deal/hastle for me as I grew up in all kinds of organizations where you had to live in groups periodically. I went to band camp at Troy State 5 summers and was used to the dreaded "dorm life".

Dorm life at Skegee was pretty funny too. Boy the stories,,, like getting in the shower before all the hot water is gone, having to buy your own toilet tissue and keep an emergency stash in your room (or go "steal" some from the Engineering Bldg:D ), dreading having to use the bathroom the saturday or sunday morning after a big game/HC weekend after somebody blew chunks all over the place, the ever controversial INNER ROOM VISITATION:p (and subsequent vows that next year YOU WILL be off the yard and in an apartment), intermittent AC in the fall/spring and room so hot that you have to open the window in winter when it's 28 degrees outside, ROTC waking you up in the morning,, the list is endless!:D :D :)

I'm telling you though; if I had it all to do over again,, I'D DO THE EXACT SAME THING!:D :cool: Campus life, for all it's ups and downs, was all good!:D
 
I agree with you Bartram. I lived in the dorm the whole 4 years I was in college. I would not trade that experience for nothing in the world. And you are right about the stories. Lawd knows I could tell yall some funny stories about my dorm life.:emlaugh: :emlaugh:
 

I lived in a dorm my freshman year of college and the experiences I got were invaluable. I think you form bonds with your sweetmates/roomates or you grow wiser and learn what not to do. So I agree Bartram.:)
 
Yes, most definitely, I would recommend staying in the dorm. Nothing compares to dorm life!!! Beginning a study break by covering all of the lights in the hall with colored paper and breaking out the strobe light and turning Luke on. Watching everyone come out of their rooms and get buck and go back to studying after 20 minutes...lol Dorm pranks. Trying to sneak in on the side because you forgot your ID. Trying to sneak in because you have your card, but was extremely intoxicated. Getting up at 5am although your class was at 9, but you were trying to take a hot shower. Endless hours of spades on the weekend. *sigh* Would I do it all over again? L yeah!!!
 
HELL YEA

Staying on the yard is sorta like living in a 3rd world country. Sometimes it is peaceful, other times it can be straight up hell. I think living in the dorm can prepare you for life's little hazzards. Nasty arse bathrooms, Sh_t coming up missing, roaches...but you also come into contact with people from all over the country, you build lasting friendships, you learn how to adapt, nothing like those late night John Madden tournaments...sneaking people in your rooms....and my all time favorite...being broke as hell cooking in the room...having left over burgers in your desk drawer to eat the next day(I know it's nasty but when you're in college...hey...it just adds to the flavor)

I stayed in the dorm during high ability, my freshman summer and fall!!! I loved it!!! I would do it all over again too.

P.S.

It helps if you stay in the honors dorm...the conditions are a lot better! :)
 
Yes yes yes yes!!!!! I went to a university where the majority of the students had to live in the dorms because the university was in the middle of nowhere. I lived in my dorm for 3 years and moved out into an apartment my senior year. It was great. It was also comforting as a Freshmen to transition from being at mommy and daddy's house to being in a slightly more independent environment with other Freshmen going through the same thing. It was invaluable. It also allowed me to keep up and evolved with what was going on on the yard at all times. When I moved off campus into my apartment I felt more lost as to what was going on. My sister has only lived in a dorm one semester since being in college (she is now a senior) and she was never involved or bonded with other college girls. I think she really missed out on that "college experience". When I have kids, it will be REQUIRED for them to get out of my house and live in the dorm even if the university is across the street. :D
 
Or course! On the yard! I stayed on campus until I felt I was too grown to be there! As a ...Junior (I THINK) I moved into an apartment.
 
The Memories, Campus Apartments, etc.

Aaah yes. I hear you all! I know now campus Apartments seem to be popular at all colleges. What an OUTSTANDING idea that is, although I don't believe the apartments will be as durable and last nowhere near as long as cinderblock and brick dorms,,, (then again, i'm talking Tuskegee,, AND WE ARE THE MASTERS OF PRESERVATION AND REUSE!! :eek: :emlaugh: :eek: :emlaugh: :emlaugh: )

I never stayed in the honors dorm unfortunately, :bawling: but I stayed on the top floor my last year which was like the penthouse (and best radio/TV reception!).

The 20 minute break/hall party is CLASSIC! LOL!!!:p Amazing how things like this survive!:D

What about the rec? This is where you (we back in the day) played pool, ping-pong(tables were ranked by skill level with the worse table and worst equipment being for "crabs".), foosball and pinball (some of you mugz are like,,, "???? fooseball? pinball??:p :p ) or that table hockey game.
 
Moving off the yard.

That was a KEY point in my young life. The first time assuming the responsibility for actually paying rent. This was really a big step and the ultimate in the college life experience of being quasi independent and on your own. You really had to be responsible and not lose control. After the inner-room visitation crap on the yard, living in your own apartment or house was straight to say the lease. Thankfully I was in band, et al so that kept me in close touch with campus life.:)
 
That would be negative

Why would you make someone live on campus? That's just ridiculous.....now if they wanna live on campus, fine...but I don't agree with it should be mandatory.

Too darn expensive to live on campus anyway.
 
Ok then, how bout an on-yard "incentive package"?

First of all Dtjag, your position is not suprising. That's why I said the following in the original post:

"In this day and age, a proposal like this would be about as feasible and enforceable as mandatory Sunday morning drill and church at Tuskegee back in the 30s."

Ok, no problemo. Let's go along with your position on not "forcing" freshmen to stay on the yard for two semesters. Let's also take your comment about cost considerations into consideration.

What about an "incentive package" to attract students to staying on campus? I would draw an analogy between a proposal to get more students to live on campus and state/county/city legislative incentive packages to attract industry and economic empowerment zones to attract industry and economic development to run down inner city districts and brownfields.

What if colleges launched programs to give students discounts or a "tuition credit" or some other type of concessions to lure more students to spend at least two semesters on campus? Would you be opposed to that? :confused:
 
Re: HELL YEA

Originally posted by NASTYNUPE
Staying on the yard is sorta like living in a 3rd world country. Sometimes it is peaceful, other times it can be straight up hell. I think living in the dorm can prepare you for life's little hazzards. Nasty arse bathrooms, Sh_t coming up missing, roaches...but you also come into contact with people from all over the country, you build lasting friendships, you learn how to adapt, nothing like those late night John Madden tournaments...sneaking people in your rooms....and my all time favorite...being broke as hell cooking in the room...having left over burgers in your desk drawer to eat the next day(I know it's nasty but when you're in college...hey...it just adds to the flavor)

I stayed in the dorm during high ability, my freshman summer and fall!!! I loved it!!! I would do it all over again too.

P.S.

It helps if you stay in the honors dorm...the conditions are a lot better! :)
Click to expand...

Damn Nupe, you remind me of them Pichback Hall dayz last year during the 2 semester I stayed in the dorum. It was fun and all of the that there. The Good and The Bad times of it all. But its too bad that I anit in school, but its all good.....Bringin back memories...
 
Memories, memories, memories....

If I could turn the hands of time, I would definitely do it again.

I feel that freshmen should stay in the dorm. After that, it's up to that particular individual.
 
I lived at home with my parents

And I would not have lived in that nasty assed Ho-plex for all the tea in China! ALL my friends GTF up OUT as soon as they could!
 
Vinita, yes, it had its bad aspects, BUT!

,,,, for every horror story there is a once in a life time memory, a time when you made life long friends, all those memories of the lines into the cafe when you was late for class or band practice, the dorm "society" as freshmen playing ping-pong on hierarchical tables till 1:00am in the morning, whipping up some hotdogs on an illegal hotplate and eating hotdogs and drinking Chek sodas on Friday night while trying to study with mugz having a dang party across the hall, negotiating inter-room visitation schedules wit yo roomate foe dem Friday and Saturday nights, agreeing on the "signs" on the door that meant, "DO NOT DISTURB!!!!!!" if you or your roomate came back to the dorm room at an "inappropriate time"!!!!:D :) :cool: ;) :p

Give me the bad of the dorm life verses not living on the yard,, I would say, IT WAS ALL GOOD! But yes,,, they beauty of living on the yard was finally getting to that point where you moved off the yard your jr or senior year! Having been on the yard and experienced ROTC/frat-Soro mugz waking my arse up at 5-6 o'clock in the morning, making a livable space out of a few square feet in all the kaos,,,, that's something I will never forget as long as I live.
 

Great topic!

Ahh!!! The memories of dorm life. I spent my first two year of college at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, where all freshman are required to stay on campus their first year, unless they are from Atlanta.

Many of you may not be aware that at Spelman and Morehouse, freshman dorms are held in the same regard as a fraternity or sorority. Every freshman dorm has it's own colors, greek symbols, calls, chants, struts, history, brother/sister dorms, para, etc. And when I say, they take that stuff serious!!! We had step practice in the basement of our dorms. Ol' heads would come back to their old dorms and teach us all the chants, struts, history, etc. Then in the spring, there would be "Freshman Week" were there would be a huge step show between all the freshman dorms in the AUC.

There are only two dorms on Spelman's campus with A/C, therefore, box fans in the windows were a requirement. I remember stealing the toilet paper out of the science building. Peeping out the window to see who was creeping with who, etc.

Those were the days ... :(
 
Well you see, I was coming from Los Angeles and had no choice but the dorms until I got to "know" Baton Rouge. We made a trip during spring break, before the fall semester when school was out so all I got to see was the outside of the Freshman complex and to be honest if I would have seen the inside, I would not be a proud SU alumnus. I think every Freshman should stay on the yard because you learn survival skills. I have a gang of stories from all dorms I stayed in. When I finally moved off of campus, yeah I had my freedom, but if you know Baton Rouge, you must know about the "bottom" and after 1 semester there in my own apartment maybe campus life was a little better!
 
I made nearly all of my friends at SU while I was on-campus. It is just something about being on The Yard with a bunch of folks who were going through the same crap that you were going through. I lived off-campus my last year, but it really wasn't all that to me. Having the get on campus early in order to get a good parking spot and actually having to come out-of-pocket for every piece of food that I ate made the dorm actually seem kind of cool(not to mention coming up with rent and utilities every month).

Living off-campus is more of a "status" thing to most college folks anyway. Some females wouldn't even look twice until they found out that your phone number didn't begin with 771:) Off-campus life wasn't all that bad, but I just had more fun on campus. I didn't have to wait until I got an apartment to do my dirt, so I didn't have this yearning for "freedom" that some of my fellow Southernites had.

The people I really felt bad for were the B.R. natives that still lived at home. That was too much like high school to me. I dated a few B.R. natives and eventually married one(an LSU graduate). They were so out of touch with campus life and events that it wasn't even funny. I was one of those folks that was at nearly everything and had to know what was going down. I only strayed away once the under-20 crowd took over the Yard.
 
On Spellman, BR and those from the col. town

Tara, I did not know that about Spellman/Morehouse/AUC. Very interesting tidbit. There are traditions at Skegee with the dorms, but not to that extent!:eek:

Limefree, Bilbrew; PRECISELY! That is such a classic description of all that is good about living on campus. The point you make about the people who lived in the city and stayed at home; I often thought about that and just could not see it given all the goings on once you are in the quasi-independent state of college life. That is simply a time to be in that transitional phase from living at home to living on your own.

Living on the yard really broke you in as far as societal skills goes. You had to learn to get along with people in a communal setting. Kind of a small parallel to boot camp where you are forced to learn to live with others and work with others.

Just can't say enough about "bonding" with the campus living on the yard also. Every time I go back to campus, every pothole, every speed bump has some meaning or some memory associated with it!

If I was in charge of college living I would make the campus so attractive as to make it POPULAR to live on campus. That's easier said than done though,, especially at a private school like Tuskegee that doesn't have spare change to invest in on campus living perks,, but I would try to improve the situation and make campus living attractive somehow.
 
can I go back for just two weeks?

Thanks Bart for helping us relive some memories. Ahhh...

A couple of weeks ago while I was attending SU's homecoming, all of my memories of my years on the yard came flooding back: the hot azz walks from the Boley to the mindome for General Assembly; the lines at Mayberry on "STEAK NIGHT"; the food fights; sending "flashlight" signals from Boley across the way to the guys in Jones; creeping in the dark behind the Union, only to find about four or five other couples snuggled up; taking the long walk from Boley across the "hump" with my suitemates to get ice cream at Sonic's (Fall '87); buying sausage sandwiches and burgers from the sausage man who would come through the dorms late at night; me and my roommate sitting our rooms in East Hall on Thursday nights with our doors open watching "A Different World" and discussing the show with our neighbors (remember when Dwayne Wayne and Whitley kissed for the first time? Ooooooooo...no they didn't!!)

It was indeed overwhelming going back on campus. There are times I run across a few SU grads who never lived on campus and they hardly knew anyone and couldn't understand the attraction of staying on campus. It's a bond you just don't get by staying off campus. It's hard to get to know someone if you don't pass by them on the sidewalk everyday, or you don't stand in line with them in Mayberry waiting on cups or forks or red kool-aid!

I would definitely recommend staying on campus at least two semesters. I agree with just about everything everyone else has mentioned previously. It may have been difficult somtimes (stale crackers and peanut butter or stale crackers and Vienna sauages, hot azz rooms with windows that didn't open and waiting for your roommate to get off the phone!), but I would do all over again in a heartbeat! :)
 
hmmmmmm

interesting subject. I've never thought about it until I came on this board and heard in the general discussions and the private forum about the college experience. I lived and grew up in Scotlandville within a 10-15 minute walk on campus. When I was small I'll go outside and listen to the game and the band. Two of my older sisters both stayed on campus. Throughtout my high school years I was on campus for all their events and parties. So when I started school I wasn't excited about staying in a dorm with restrictions and bad food. By then my sisters had graduated and it was just me and mom and my lil brother at home and he moved out a year later. I didn't attend alot of the on campus events because I did that when I was in high school. Basically I hung out with my local friends. My only regret is I wish I had gotten more involved in student activities. "Seeing spots" and I started and graduated together and we don't know each other. I'll probably do it the same but might consider one or two semester on campus. For me, living at home had it benefits.
 
Re: hmmmmmm

Originally posted by BgJag
"Seeing spots" and I started and graduated together and we don't know each other. I'll probably do it the same but might consider one or two semester on campus. For me, living at home had it benefits.
Click to expand...

And that is the main reason to stay on campus. You forge all of your lasting friendships when you live in the dorms, both male and female. It is truly campus LIFE. The students who lived off campus were out of touch when it came to socializing and bonding. Of course you can't know everybody, but you remember folk who lived in the Freshman Complex, the Triangle and "on the river, back there".

BgJag also answers the question for me about limiting my son from attending and participating in activities on campus. He is a student at SU Lab and when he is a teenager he will be right there to go to everything and then be burned out by the time the experience will be his. I am also MAKING him live on campus.

I think living on campus the first year is the best and then give the option to move. I lived on campus 3 years then moved into the Villa my senior year and then I moved WAYYYYYYYYY off campus during law school. You know you can't study FOR REAL when the Ques are stepping in the Triangle!!!:emlaugh:
 
Bg makes a good point. I grew up 45 minutes from Gram and my dad had me on campus EVERY weekend going to every home game and sometimes away and it was a lot of fun. Since he played there, he still knew everyone on campus and he introduced me to everyone, as he should. As a kid it was really cool to hang out on campus (I had a cousin there a few years older than I was), watch the band and observe the "older" kids in the Union. But, when I was of age to choose a college, I was burnout, Gram was too close to home, everyone I knew was already going there and all of my dad's buddies were going to "keep an eye out on me". That's one of the reason's why I'm Jag-Tig, instead of Tig-Jag. I was burnout and wanted to experience something different. Baton Rouge was my destination and staying on campus was the best part. All this time my dad thought he was doing the right thing (and as a parent, he was), but I had a different plan.

Seeing Spots, speaking of the Villa, WHY IN DE HECK IS THAT RAT TRAP STILL STANDING? PEOPLE STILL LIVE THERE!! ewwwww!!
I was told the owner wants almost a million bucks to sell that place. That's a joke!
 
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