New Chrysostom women’s bathroom. LIZ DONG/COURTESY
By, Adrianne Hutto and Angelina Perez, Production Editor & Web Editor
As Manhattan College students were planning to head home for the holidays and finish their exams last semester, Horan Hall students were instructed to pack up their dorms and relocate to another residence hall.
Students were given the option of Jasper, Lee or Chrysostom Hall and were assigned rooms based on a lottery system.
Chayse Martino, a sophomore psychology major at MC, explained that this move was difficult for her as she is originally from Florida and her parents could not come to school to assist with transporting her things across campus.
Martino’s roommate Michaela Sully, a sophomore sound studies and communication major, explained that her parents had planned to help her move out but needed more notice about the timeframe to account for their travel plans.
Sully explained that while they were appreciative of the assistance provided by Residence Life, the boxes they were given were not big enough to hold everything.
“We had to wait outside of Res Life for so long to get the boxes,” Sully said. “No one was there and the RAs didn’t really seem like they were given much information about it either.”
Therefore, the two were left transporting all their belongings alone at night and in the rain. The pair said this was made more difficult as there is no direct route from Horan Hall to Jasper Hall that does not require the use of several stairs. As a result, the students had to leave the confines of campus, walk around the school and up the hill to Jasper pushing a wobbly cart.
“We couldn’t even get the bins through the back doors of Jasper so we had to unpack all of our stuff into the hallway and use the elevator, trip by trip,” Martino said.
This had to be done by the pair twice before all their items were in their new dorm.
While there was some unavoidable stress in the moving process, having more transparency throughout the process would have allowed for a smoother transition, Sully explained.
“I don’t know if they just didn’t know how it was going to happen themselves or if they just didn’t tell us, but nobody even really knew anything until it was like okay, ‘we gotta go now,'” Sully said.
Amaya Behsman, a sophomore English and communication major, was unaware of how the process of having movers would work.
“I didn’t sign up for movers because I was kind of confused at the time because they sent the email out during finals week so I wasn’t really paying attention,” Behsman said. “I did not understand it was free, so I was not ready in time. I was leaving Saturday morning and you had to have all of your stuff packed up during the week in order for the movers to come. How will I have all my stuff packed up while I am also taking finals? So I did not end up doing the movers, I had to move all my own stuff up the stairs.”
Conor Boardman, a sophomore marketing major and friend of Behsman, returned to Jasper Hall for the spring semester after also living there his first year.
“The moving process was awful. Not for me, but for other people,” Boardman said. Boardman clarified that while it was easier for him to have his parents drive down after his finals, it was still a hassle.
“It was still an inconvenience, especially during finals week when you already have so much stuff to worry about, like spending time with your friends or studying so that you can get a good grade,” Boardman said. “You do not want to worry about moving all your stuff to another building. The timing was inconvenient.”
Boardman moved in early to avoid causing too much stress during finals week. However, he was not greeted with the welcome back he had wished for.
“I moved in on Saturday when we were supposed to move on Tuesday,” Boardman said. “When I got to the room, it was freezing. I felt like I was losing my mind. My friends and I had to keep our coats on. Some of them even got sick. Some people tried to fix it, but it ended up not helping completely, and I had to go out and buy a space heater.”
Boardman told The Quadrangle his room has still not been fully fixed, and he is waiting for a repairman so he can sleep in his Jasper Hall room peacefully on some of the coldest and rainiest January nights since moving in.
“The day I moved in, I went to the bathroom, and there was a sink full of this mysterious black sludge not draining,” Boardman said. “It was not until Wednesday when people moved in that it finally got taken care of. There is always pee on the seats, and hair in the sink when men shave. The students leave it there expecting the custodians to always be there to clean it up.”
When asked what could be done to fix the cleanliness of the men’s bathroom, Boardman explained it’s the responsibility of the students.
“Students should respect the living space as if it were their houses, because you’re forced to live here. Other people are forced to deal with the mess you leave,” he said.
With Chrysostom Hall’s return, students were curious what to expect. Two sophomores, Ava McGuigan, a double major in psychology and education, and Montserrat Nicasio, a double major in psychology and political science, told The Quadrangle how unaware they were of what their new rooms would look like.
“A friend of ours had to send us a picture of what the room layout looked like because we did not get any news on what it was going to be like,” McGuigan said. “I know many people that did not bring any clothes basically because we were told we would not have a closet or our drawers. So we thought it was minimal space and barely brought anything.”
McGuigan and Nicasio were also unaware of how the transition from Horan Hall would be.
“Knowing that it was going to be temporary was already weird. I was like, should I hang up posters? Should I decorate my room? Should I make this place homey even though we will leave soon? So, it was weird going into it, but I kept telling myself, ‘Okay, ignore it. Just have a good semester,’” Nicasio said.
Some students transitioned into the new buildings without a problem, explaining how helpful their RAs were, doing anything and everything they could to help.
“We were very stressed out,” McGuigan said. “However, they were pretty good with supplying the boxes and the things we needed for the move. I was fortunate enough to have movers provided. My experience was pretty organized. I moved in two days before everybody and got my things in. I walked in through the basement, they gave me my code, and I got in no problem.”
Madelyn Fitzgerald, a sophomore biology major, said she had a rough experience moving dorms but explained that the fault was hers.
“My friends and I decided to move on the first day (Thursday) when there was a torrential downpour,” Fitzgerald said. “Since we did not use the moving company, we had to move everything we had on campus with my car. I am thankful for the people who helped me move; it was a crazy experience. Carrying a wet fridge up two flights of stairs is no joke.”
Fitzgerald, who moved from Horan to Chrysostom, explains that the differences are drastic. While Horan had more maintenance flaws, the dorm hall had a better view of the city and private bathrooms.
“C-block is much cleaner. There is less space, but appliances are all brand new,” Fitzgerald said. “The location makes it easier to get to classes faster, and you feel more on campus.”
She explains that there are positives to having a communal bathroom.
“Getting ready next to your friends is fun,” Fitzgerald said. “I think that too many people are focused on the smaller size and not on how much closer we all are by experiencing this together.”
Behsman agreed that while the new bathrooms are nice, it can be a little unrealistic to make them entirely white and expect them to stay clean.
“I am not trying to throw the custodian staff under the bus because they do an excellent job. It’s not them,” Behsman said. “There is just not enough space for all of the girls they have here. The bathroom is big but still gets dirty quickly, so they decided to make it white, which sounds great until you have 20 girls in the bathroom constantly, it will get dirty.”
Nicasio said she wanted those struggling with the transition to keep the positives in mind as the semester progresses.
“Things are looking up. I think it is all about perspective and how you view everything,” Nicasio said. “You could see this move in a super negative way, like, oh, communal bathrooms, a small space…or you could look at it positively like, at least I am with my friends. And you know what, we have to do this for only a semester, especially the spring semester. It goes by fast.”
Students items were dropped off by the movers not as smoothly as she wanted. JILLTUTHILL/COURTESY