There’s no doubt about it. No matter where you live or which school you find yourself at, first-year dorms are cramped, crowded and, in most cases, uncarpeted. In recent history, Gustavus first-year students have been presented with a trio of living options: Sohre Hall, Pittman Hall and Norelius Hall. Although the incoming class of 2013 will not be able to circumvent the unforgettable—and sometimes harrowing—experience of living in a first-year dorm, they  will be the first to enjoy a slew of new renovations to these residence halls.

“The state revised the elevator code, giving people three years to comply with the new rules. It’s significant enough to require that all of our elevators built before 1972 be brought up to code,” Director of Physical Plant Warren Wunderlich said.

“And as long as we were in [Sohre and Pittman] we decided to do some renovations that we’ve had planned for a long time.”

Upperclassmen that visit Sohre or Pittman this year will notice a couple of changes to the first-year dorms. First and foremost, the windows have been replaced with a higher performance brand.

“Besides the new elevators, these new windows will probably have the greatest effect on daily life for the residents,”  Wunderlich said. “The old windows in Sohre were glazed on only one side.  During the winter, they’d get frost on the inside.

These new windows have argon in them, so they’ve got at least three or four times better insulation properties.”

Most students who lived in Sohre or Pittman in the past have probably taken a ride on the ancient freight elevators that were once found throughout the dorms. Thanks to the efforts of the Physical Plant construction crew this summer, those elevators have been replaced by newer, safer versions that look more like a nice hotel and less like Universal Studio’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

“You used to go inside, pull down a grate, start it up and it would shake the whole way. It reminded me of a haunted house. The thing would stop in between two floors, and you weren’t sure if you’d ever get out alive,”  Junior Physics Major Dan Mellema said.

Some other noticeable renovations in Sohre and Pittman include new curtains, new carpet and some changes to the exteriors of the buildings.

“The sidewalk between Sohre and Pittman has been taken out … and the first floors of both dorms have been made more handicapped accessible. There has always been a raised step and sidewalk in the front of the buildings, and the doors were too close together. Now we’re in much better shape for that,”  Wunderlich said.

“I actually have a clean windowsill now. It’s lovely,”  Sophomore Communication Studies Major Katie Asfeld said, who is a CF on the first floor of Sohre. “We have new curtains on the first floor now. They’re ‘blackout’ curtains, so you could actually shine a flashlight on the outside of one of them, and you wouldn’t be able to see it on the inside.”

“The new carpeting feels like leopard fur,” Junior Sociology and Anthropology Major David Kreft said. “It’s like something I could sleep on.”

“We’re having an open house soon to showcase the new renovations. All are welcome,” Sophomore Emma Oseland said.

The class of 2013 may never know what their dorms were like before this summer’s upgrades, but upperclassmen who spent their first year at Gustavus in Sohre or Pittman may want to see the improvements for themselves. It may not entirely eliminate all the harrowing aspects of living in a first-year dorm, but it’s certainly a step in a more comfortable, more carpeted direction.