As the dust settles around the results of this year's housing lottery, it is clear that Trent Dormitory remains a largely unpopular housing option for many students.
Of the 347 students who will live in Trent next year, only eight are students returning from this year. An additional 125 students, however, requested the dorm as their first choice in the housing lottery, said Bill Burig, assistant dean of student development.
Those who either returned to the dorm or chose to live there said that the dorm is not quite as bad as many students characterize it.
Trinity freshman Teabra Dixon, who selected Trent as her first choice in the lottery, said she chose the dorm because she wanted to be somewhere out of the way and she knew that she would get her first choice. "It's not as bad as people think it is," she said. "You've got computers and the cafZ right there."
Engineering sophomore James Bowen said he is returning to Trent next year because of its location with respect to other buildings on campus. "Trent is the most convenient of all housing because it is closest to Hudson Hall," Bowen said. "As an engineer, I go to Science Drive for all my courses."
But for the majority of next year's Trent residents, the dorm will not serve as the ideal housing situation. Of the 347 total residents, 90 were moved to Trent from the Central Campus waiting list, and most of the other 124 residents marked Trent as a last or close to last choice on their housing surveys, Burig said. "Trent is clearly a last-choice option as students see it," he added.
Trinity freshman Josh Schaffer, a future resident of Trent G, said that Trent was his second to last choice in the housing lottery, just above Edens Quadrangle on West Campus. "The major disadvantage to Trent is the inconvenient location," he said. "If it were relocated on West, it might be the number-one dorm."
Schaffer added that while the dorm may have some nice amenities such as the new weight room, he does not plan to spend much time in the dorm. "The only advantage is that I'll be with a bunch of other people who don't want to live there," he said.
Even among the students who selected the dorm as their first choice, there are some who did so only after realizing that their chances of getting West Campus housing assignments were slim.
John Cross, an engineering freshman who will be living in Trent 1 in the fall, said that his block of 15 students chose Trent because they knew they did not have a chance of staying together on West Campus. "The majority of the block would have rather been on West," he said.
Despite the apparent disadvantages to living in Trent-largely a result of its location-some have determined to make the best of their housing situation.
Trinity freshman Jay Krystinik, a future Trent G resident, said that he and his friends who were placed in Trent have decided not to let it ruin their year. "We've convinced ourselves that we're going to have a good time," he said.
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