Surviving the dorms – CP style

Looking around your old room and trying to decipher what to pack up and take to the dorms can be more than difficult. The process can be stressful, but this guide will explain all of the dos and don’ts to packing for the dorms. Advice from first-year freshman will help ease some of your anxiety. And remember, when packing, less is more!

Many freshman girls admitted that they brought too many clothes to the dorms.

“I should have brought fewer clothes. I really didn’t need all of them,” said Liz Fox, a freshman pre-communication major.

“I definitely didn’t need all the shoes I brought. I’m really obsessed with shoes so I brought most of them, but I wore maybe one-third of the pairs I brought. Plus, the shoe rack took up most of my closet,” said Jamie Vagge, a freshman advertising major.

So what should you bring? Items that ensure privacy are important. Learning to live with another person in such a small space without some boundaries can be tricky.

“You must bring a curtain. The first thing I did when I got to my dorm was set up a curtain between me and my roommate’s bed. This gives you the luxury of privacy. And don’t forget the headphones!” said Jason Peck, a freshman open option major.

Stephanie Slaughter, a freshman news-editorial major, explained that moving to a smaller room is a hard transition, especially moving to a smaller closet.

“I wish I’d brought more storage units, especially for my closet, because the closets are really small,” she said.

Other recommended items include Christmas lights, futons, pictures, pillows, blenders, fans and duct tape. Duct tape was highly praised.

“It is one of those versatile items that can be used to fix any problem,” said Cassie Croissant, a freshman pre-communication major.

Also, don’t ignore those childhood toys covered with dust in your closet. Vagge also said small items like sticky hands and silly putty are entertaining during long lectures, but she suggested avoiding toys like poppers that will draw unwanted attention in the classroom.

Toys also create memories in the dorms.

“My water balloon launcher would have been handy to shoot apples at the girls’ doors in the dorms. I ended up making a slingshot which was tricky, but it was worth it. Even though the girls complained, they liked it,” said Trevor Doyle, a freshman integrative physiology major.