Geena Zebrasky – Features Writer
Figuring out housing can be stressful. Even if you’re not a first year, you might still need roommates, there’s several forms you have to fill out, and the whole process can feel like another thing to add to your growing spring semester to-do list. And as much as I hate to mention the pandemic in yet another article, COVID-19 clearly hasn’t made making these decisions any easier. Visiting other residential halls is particularly hard right now–so we hope that this week’s Features can help demonstrate what options and rooms are out there. Housing can be confusing, but Residential Life has several different ways you can get your questions answered: Weekdays 8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. you can Google Chat with Residential Life through the link found on their Gustavus webpage, or email dsandber@gustavus.edu with any question you might have.
Upperclassmen Housing
Apartments & Townhomes
Southwest Hall
One of the junior and senior halls, this hall is home to four to six person units (apartments and suites) and can be found adjacent to Prairie View. This building was added to campus in 2005–the same time Old Main got some much needed renovations.
Arbor View Apartments
Located across the street from the Arb, this is one of the apartment-style living options for juniors and seniors on campus.
Chapel View Townhomes
Chapel View was established in 2012–primarily seniors live in these buildings in groups of four. Chapel View is technically “off-campus,” a short distance from St. Peter High School to the West side of campus.
College View Apartments
Found over by the Bubble, this apartment-style building is a popular choice for juniors and seniors on campus and was built in two separate sections, one following the tornado.
Complex:
Gibbs Hall
The hall found in the middle of “Complex,” Gibbs is one of the three halls where primarily sophomores find themselves living. In fact, it was known as Link Hall until 2003 because it was built in 1966 with the intention of serving as a bridge between Sorensen and North.
Sorenson Hall
Linked to Gibbs Hall’s left side, Sorensen is the second of the three halls in Complex. It’s also the oldest building in the trio, built in 1955.
North Hall
You guessed it, North is Gibb’s right-hand man, built in 1962.
Options with application processes:
Carlson International Center &
Swedish House
Both of these buildings have a special application process, but for a good reason. Living in the International Center (IC), known as the Crossroads Community, provides a unique opportunity to connect with one of the coolest organizations on campus, and it has a great community. Ten students get to live in Swedish House, and when it’s not COVID season, FIKA is one of the coolest ways to grab some food and hang out with friends.
Housing timeline
March 5: Off-campus housing, Swedish House, Crossroads Community (IC) Center, and Intentional Learning & Service (ILS) Core Value House Applications are due.
March 22: Housing agreement and specific housing type applications (4-person, 3-person, double) must be submitted in your housing portal.
March 31: Roommate groups finalized.
April 8-23: Room selection time slots (specific room type dates can be found on the room selection webpages).
First-Year Housing
Pittman Hall
One of the three dorms for first years (and upperclassmen CFs), Pittman sports a modern looking lobby, especially when compared to Sohre, even though it’s from the ‘60s and wasn’t even called Pittman–Valley View Hall used to be this building’s name.
Sohre Hall
Arguably the best dorm hall on campus, Sohre comes adorned with it’s own ghost story: Some say if you’re up late enough working on your homework, you can hear Mrs. Sophia Sohre herself walking through the halls (or tapping in the basement walls). Sohre was originally South Hall, but in 1962 it was named after Sohre, who turned one hundred years old the day of the opening ceremony.
Norelius Hall
The third freshman dorm on campus, Co-ed can be a good place to make good connections. But if you’re a first-year moving out, you might not miss it: the small windows aren’t a common feature in any other dorm on campus.
Other options
Uhler Hall
Home to primarily sophomores and juniors, Uhler is the building pretty much directly across from the Caf and is even older than Rundstrom (and has a super cool courtyard). This building used to be the men’s dorm.
Prairie View Hall
This dorm hall mirrors the nursing building, Mattson Hall, and is open to all non-first-year students. Built at the same time as College View in 1998 following the tornado, some of the first students that moved into this building had been students living in the lounges of Sohre and Pittman.
Rundstrom Hall
Opened in 1938, this hall is one of the oldest on campus, and might come with a ghost or two as well. Now open to all non-first-year students, when it was opened it was originally built as a women’s dorm hall.