Coming in as a transfer student I wasn't sure how I would feel about dorming, and honestly, for the most part, it wasn't that bad. However, the building that I wound up getting placed in has ruined the dorming experience for me. No offense Rowan, but you messed up with Holly Pointe. A brand new, over a million dollar project and what do you have to show for it? Constant broken doors, elevators always down, and the air conditioning still being on in December. Here's what living in Holly Pointe is like:
1. During move-in weekend there was one working elevator in a building 1,500 students were moving into.
I mean the least we could have gotten was a warning as to the fact that all of these kids were about to move in but there was only one way to get up and down with all of your stuff. It wasn't even like it was just the first day of move in...we're talking the WHOLE weekend. It was like living a nightmare.
2. My room is directly above the dining hall.
Nothing says fresh air like the smell of processed food in the morning. On top of that, I can't even open the window if I wanted to because it just puts me at risk for setting off the fire alarm and I refuse to be that person.
3. The vents are still blowing cold air.
Rowan, let's get this straight, it's December. The temperature averages about 45 degrees a day for almost the past 3 weeks, yet there is still no heat! I wish I was exaggerating when I said this, but the water that remains on my body when I get out of the shower has the potential to turn into ice before I get dressed. There is nothing worse than having to wear layers of clothes to GO TO SLEEP.
4. The elevators in general.
Of the 4 elevators in the building, there is a guarantee that at least one of them is out of service. Always. I have a better chance of hitting the lottery than I do of not finding an out of service elevator. Also, there is no reason it should take 6 minutes to wait for an elevator to go from the 7th floor to the first...it's obscene. You also shouldn't hear a clanking sound every time you hit a new floor...it's not like I'm paying to wonder if Rowan's going to have to call my parents stating I've gotten injured in a freak elevator accident. Find a way to assure me I won't die at the hands of your elevator, please! Also, for the cameras that we can all see in the elevators, how is it possible that someone is constantly getting away with peeing in the elevator? It's gross.
5. The parking situation.
A brand new building comes with a brand new lot, right? WRONG. It costs me almost $300 to park on campus, but what's the sense in that if it takes me 15 minutes to walk from my car to my building? There is none, but another staff lot is fine because you know, Holly Pointe is so close to any of the academic buildings. Right, I must've missed that.
6. Bathroom cleanliness.
For two weeks I checked the same shower that had some strange, gross liquid on the wall to see when it would get cleaned. It took TWO WEEKS before it was cleaned, yet you always see cleaning staff on the floors! What exactly are you cleaning then? The sinks constantly have hair in them, never any paper towels to be found in the bathrooms or the sink rooms, soap is scarce, toilet paper is a miracle to find, etc.
7. ID card entry.
The only pro to this, at least, is that we know you were trying to up the security of the building; I can appreciate that. What I can't appreciate, however, is that the card readers barely read the cards. I have stood in front of the card readers activating and then reactivating my ID more times than I can count on my hands and feet and it still doesn't work.
8. The doors that ID card entry lets you in.
What doors? Find me a working one. The door to the D pod was broken for an entire week before it was fixed, which eliminated one of the 4 exits of the building. Fire hazard, am I right? And even if they are working, sometimes they like to span out and retract the bar to allow the door to unlock, but then you have to listen to it click for the next hour and a half because it's malfunctioning from one attempt to open a door.
9. Lighting.
Each Holly Pointe room has one light on the side of the door that is expected to light up the entire room. I can't even see my bed that is 5 feet from the door in my room with the light on. I don't know how anyone is expected to do anything with such crap lighting. The only place there isn't crap lighting is in the bathroom and in the hallways, but those LEDs are brutal on your eyes at night nor do they make you feel that great about yourself first thing in the morning. 10/10 times I would not recommend looking at yourself in the bathroom after just rising because of those lights.
10. Fire alarms.
There are a problem all over Rowan, but at least the other residential buildings have grasped how to not be standing outside in the freezing cold at 4:30 in the morning because some idiot forgot to put water in their Ramen before putting in the microwave. Rookie mistake. It takes at least 45 minutes per fire alarm to get back inside. By that point, all of your plans are shot to hell anyways.
Don't get me wrong, I love being at Rowan. I love the friends I've made, the experiences I've gotten, and everything else about Rowan except for living in Holly Pointe Commons. I appreciate the fact that it was a brand new building and I got to be one of the first to experience living in it, but why open a building meant to hold all of those kids if you know it isn't ready to be open yet? If you had just waited a little longer, all would have been well.
