September 25, 2003

Students enjoy variety in housing

Choices include small houses, large residence halls, fraternities and sororities

The dining room at Allison Hall is busy for the service of three meals each day.

According to the undergraduate housing office, approximately 4,250 undergraduate students live in the University’s residence halls; another 900 students have chosen to live in fraternity or sorority houses. The remaining approximately 2,700 undergraduates commute or live off campus.

Northwestern students choose their living arrangements from among houses, residence halls, residential colleges, fraternities and sororities, and off-campus properties.

Houses are small living units accommodating from 26 to 50 students each. They tend to be personal and cohesive. The modest size accentuates social interaction and provides a sense of community. The extent of activities in these residences varies considerably from house to house.

Each house is different in style, size, room arrangement and character. None has dining facilities; residents use the food service of a nearby larger hall. Goodrich, Rogers, and 1856 Orrington are the women’s houses. The men’s house is Foster.

Delta Delta Delta is one of 10 sororities at Northwestern. There are also eight fraternities.

The residence halls accommodate more students than the houses, as many as 600 in the largest, Foster-Walker, and as few as 85 in North Mid-Quads. Large halls frequently have the human and financial resources to provide a wider range of activities and offer the opportunity to interact with a larger and more varied group of students.

Coeducational housing is available in all of the larger residential units. The arrangement varies somewhat from hall to hall, but in each a reasonable degree of privacy is provided. Men and women live on separate floors or in separate sections.

The coeducational halls are Allison, Bobb, Elder, McCulloch, North Mid-Quads, South Mid-Quads, Sargent and 1835 Hinman.

600 Lincoln and Hinman House (610 Lincoln) have been converted to freshmen only halls this fall.

The Foster-Walker Undergraduate Housing Complex, also coeducational, is composed of 595 single and eight quadruple rooms. It is fully carpeted and air-conditioned. The single rooms offer more privacy, but the interaction with other students can be more limited.

A Healthy Living Unit, or wellness/substance-free living area, is located in a section of the first floor of the Foster-Walker Complex. Programs for residents of this area emphasize the Six Points of Wellness. Residents agree to keep the area free of smoke, alcohol and other drugs.

Dining facilities are located within Allison, Elder, Foster-Walker, Sargent, Willard and 1835 Hinman.

Northwestern’s first residential colleges emerged in the early 1970s. They were designed to stimulate closer student-faculty relations outside the classroom, foster a range of informal cultural and intellectual activities and help students form strong community ties within the larger University environment. Currently, there are 11 residential colleges on campus. (The Observer will run a story later this year on the residential college system.)

Eight fraternities and 10 sororities offer both a housing option and an opportunity for enriching the college environment. Greek housing units accommodate from 23 to 60 students who are committed to developing a lifestyle that reflects their affiliation. However, this does not imply conformity in either an academic or a social sense.

Each fraternity or sorority is autonomous, and its members decide house regulations within constraints imposed by the law, national organizations and University policy. Many extracurricular activities are available as chosen by the members.

The cost of room and board is comparable to that charged for University residence halls. Most Greek units employ their own cooks and serve family-style meals. Each fraternity and sorority selects its own Greek student counselor, who serves as a peer counselor to fellow members. Greek student counselors are trained and supervised by the University Residential Life Office.