Dorm life. Whether you love it or hate it, avoid or envy it, you likely don’t imagine it being very different from what it already is. Los Angeles Times staff writer Conor Friedersdorf proposes an interesting transformation of college dormitories in this July 2017 column.
Read it here: Friedersdorf, "Ban elite college dorms”
- Friedersdorf admits to having enjoyed very much living in a dorm among his classmates and peers when he was a college student at an elite school, but now he is proposing replacing the system. What does he propose to replace it with? Why? Summarize his argument. Does his proposal have merit? Why or why not?
- In his conclusion, Friedersdorf uses an invented term, “E Pluribus Dorm,” and there is some humor in the term if you recognize the phrase that it plays off and what that phrase means. If you don’t already know, do a little investigating. What is the original phrase that “E Pluribus Dorm” plays with? Where can the original phrase be found? (Hint: you may have a copy or two in your pocket.) What does the original mean? What does Friedersdorf’s phrase mean?
- Instead of citing a specific source for his They Say, Friedersdorf simply provides his own explanation of how dorms at elite schools operate, and rather than argue that the dorm system is bad or wrong, he states that the “approach has some validity.” Read (or re-read) Chapter 4 of your text. Which of the templates in that chapter comes closest to Friedersdorf’s statement? Why do you think so? Explain your reasoning.
- You’re a college student—how attractive would Friedersdorf’s proposal be to you? Why? Write an essay in which you imagine that such a living arrangement were available to you at a reasonable price. Under what conditions would you consider moving in? What might you expect to gain or learn from the experience? Why?
They Say I Blog 
As a college student right now I like the idea of this but I don’t find it very practical. Living in a dorm room is already challenging enough and I don’t think this would help. I think that living with people who all go to the same school helps bring unity and pride for that school. This wouldn’t happen if you lived with people who don’t attend the university. I think it’s a better idea to just have events and invite people to campus rather than living with them.
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As a college student, I think that living on campus with students that attend the same University is how you get connected and stay involved in the college that you attend. I don’t think that you should be asking people that go to a community college to come room on campus at a different university just so you have a different “diverse ” way to your education. I think that this proposal is not well thought through and is not realistic for someone going to school. Also, with that situation you could run into people that aren’t as good of an influence because they might of not even gotten into the University and they could not influence you to do well because they are upset with what happened to them. In the end, it just does not make sense.
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“E Pluribus Unum” is the motto of the U.S. It’s Latin, and translates as “Out of many, one”. It’s found on all U.S. currency. Friedersdorf’s phrase translates as “Out of many, Dorm”.
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As a college student myself, I agree with the fact that student leaders should be communicating with the rest of the student body. This will give those students a perspective of what its like from a different person. The author explains his argument precisely with the use of examples and relative information about a college student. I can relate to this article and understand the importance of a college student body working together instead of separating ideas and dividing people. Every student has a chance to go to college, but not every student has a chance to live in a dorm. Going through with this system would give an equal amount of opportunity to each student and allow future leaders the opportunity to learn from a new perspective.
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Friedersdorf makes a lot of good points. I believe people would act differently if they lived with other students from other colleges. The idea of this actually happening though is very unlikely. The living spaces would cost much more for the non prestige schools. Community College students go to Community College to save money. I would much rather live with someone who goes to the same school as me.
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I believe these style of dorms are ineffective because living with many different types of people and trying to focus on your schoolwork and, if a freshman, adjust to the new style of living, I feel would be very difficult. I feel as if these like minded individuals can have the opportunity to get together outside of their dorms to discuss the things needed. If living together, each individual could become overwhelmed and frustrated with each other about certain things or one could become distracted with all the different types of people put together who are working on different things. Also students often already get put in a dorm with diversity, so I w=feel this is a waste of time and energy, I do not feel as if I would gain much from experiencing this. Other than patience from dealing with unlike minded people. I may consider this movement if I was presented with a scholarship or some sort of compensation, but other than that I would most definitely not consider this.
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I agree that every freshmen should have the experience of living in a dorm. It is a major adjustment and it teaches every individual life skills that are needed in order to be a successful adult. I agree that for Ivy league school they need to have some diversity. I am not saying that this is all of them, but a lot of times when someone is exceptionally smart they like other characteristics like compassion (think similar to Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory). It would be very amazing if the people in Ivy league schools were able to humble themselves and learn about different cultures and different walks of life so they can actually understand the world they have great potential of running. I think that in normal universities there is a lot of diversity and people who have majorly different life experiences. However, in Ivy league schools that does not seem to be the case.
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I am currently a college student and I believe that there are ways to diversify your living situation without changing the organization of the dorms. Many students can live off campus to have this diversity instead of being in the dorms. Also, living in the dorms doesn’t necessarily mean that students will not be living with people different from them. People come from many different backgrounds and can all end up in the same place. Most college students do not live in the dorms every year that they are in attendance to college, therefore, living in the dorm for a year is not harmful.
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Being a college student, living on campus and being apart of the community is a great way to stay connected to school and to make new life long friends. It is a great way to stay connected to school functions, clubs, sports, etc. Also, when staying in dorms you get to meet new people and maybe some new life long friends. However, if a student going to a community college or a tech school it does not make any sense to put them on another college campus that is farther away from their school just to get a more diverse environment. Students needs to interact with people from their school, and not from another area. Being a college student, I want to interact with people who go to the same school as me and are in the same environment as me.
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Honestly, I would rather live with someone who attends my university. It doesn’t really make sense for someone that goes to a community college or trade school to drive a farther distance from their school just to live on campus in a dorm. Yes, the dorm experience is fun and different, and I’m sure there’s a lot of people at those schools that wish they could have that experience, but it just doesn’t make sense for this to happen. Dorm life is great, but it does get old after a while. So to those students who maybe wish they could do it, just remember not everyone does it and that’s okay. It makes more sense to live at your current house that’s closer to your school.
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Friedersdorf discusses the possibility of integrating college dorms with students from other universities. I disagree with this concept and I don’t think it could ever be passed. If a community college student gets to room with a student that goes to an elite university, then there are two people with completely different backgrounds and opportunities living with each other in a non-beneficial way. This would not help them get involved in the community of their campus, this would not help them study hard for their classes, and this would not help them make friends around the school. Also, ivy league students worked extremely hard to get where they got, which means they deserve to be placed in a community of like-minded individuals. That doesn’t necessarily mean that community college students don’t work hard, but the idea proposed in this article just doesn’t make much sense. There is no evidence supporting that the system currently doesn’t work, and there is even less evidence supporting that this change would help.
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Living in the dorm is really fun for all college students of different backgrounds. It introduces you to new people and different backgrounds. When living with someone else, you need to learn to adapt and learn to live with someone who is not family. Sometimes in a college dorm, there are disagreements and tensions flare but most people are able to work it out which is another ability everyone needs to learn to have
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Would Friedersdorf’s be a good idea? Personally I don’t think it would. The reason for this is there would be no benefit to the colleges or the students. this wouldn’t be attractive to me and I probably would not participate in it. The reason is that I wouldn’t have anything to relate to these people about I couldn’t talk about the GCU game or anything GCU because they wouldn’t understand. Now I would consider doing this if the living arrangements were a lot cheaper than at GCU but that s it really.
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I would have to disagree with Friedersdorf due to the fact that there are other ways to make our society more diverse. Even though I think diversity is a great thing to not only have in our society, but as well as in school. However, living with different people with different backgrounds is hard enough, then adding in a person that is not doing the same major or going to the same school would create issues. Additionally, I think it is important to live with people that have some similar interests to help out with studying for classes and build a tight relationship. I do not think that it would be probable that a college would agree to this different and new kind of dorm.
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I somewhat agree to Friedersdorf’s proposal. This proposal would be a great way to gain diversity in campus living areas. It would create a more diverse atmosphere and encourage others to meet new people and gain new experiences. However, with this, there may be more conflict since people wouldn’t be as able to relate to each other. As a college student, I would be a little hesitant about it just because it would be out of my comfort zone, but I would also want the exposure to people of different diversities. I think it is important to be introduced to people from all walks of life. It would allow me to understand their different experiences and be exposed to different people’s way of living.
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As a college student, I think Friedersorf’s proposal is quite attractive. Having people from totally different cultures and places can be very fun. You get to know more about them, and also learn from them. However, there is a bad side to this because Friedersorf mentions that there would also be people of different ages, and I don’t think living with someone who could be your parent would be as fun. Having the similarity of majoring in the same profession is also entertaining, and can even be helpful.
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Friedersdoft states in his writing how beneficial it would be to have people of different professions in the same living environment, and I think he is right. As a college student living in the dorms has really helped me branch out and meet new people that I wouldn’t have meet if we hadn’t been roommates. Although my roommates and I are all different majors we get along great and have become close friends. I have made friends that are interested in the same profession as me, but I think if I had to live and go to class with the same people everyday I would start to get bored with my routine. I love the diversity dorm living offers me.
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I personally don’t agree with his proposal because if you are going to a certain school you should have the right to stay on that campus. If you go to an elite school like Harvard, not all the students are the same so there is some diversity. I am rooming with people and it is fun to interact with them because they are so different. I think Friedersdorf’s idea is absolutely crazy and I don’t think anyone would agree with this proposal.
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Regarding to the 4th paragraph and its questions, I responded to the question “under what conditions would you consider moving in?” For me, it would be the price of the living arrangement, its surroundings, and if they allow pets in the facility. Is it in a nice neighborhood or is it in a crummy part of town? Also, there was the question, “what might you expect to gain or learn from the experience?” I would hope that I would gain more knowledge about myself by living on my own and having to be more independent and responsible. It also would help me be more efficient with my time and how to manage it properly.
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I honestly would room with a person that had different view points than I did if I didn’t have another choice. I wouldn’t really mind it because I would just mind my own personal business and wouldn’t really bother to bug them or anything. Or maybe once in a while try to understand there point of view and how they view things.Just respect there point of view I guess because after all who am I to judge after all. Its always a good things to have different views to keep in mind everyone is different and its a good thing to be ad-knowledgeable of that.
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Friedersdorf’s proposal does not sound appealing to me, not thinking about how everyone interacts with each other. First off, not everyone is going to get along with each other, that’s just a fact. To ask that everyone be required to get along and spend time together 24/7 is asking for issues to arise. I think it is reasonable to want to bring the community closer together, however, forcing everyone to live together and be around one another constantly is not the answer. Overall, I would not support his proposal and would not want to move into the kind of dorm that he suggests but, rather, become closer to my peers through fun group activities and events, not living together.
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Living in the dorm is really fun for all college students of different backgrounds. It introduces you to new people and different backgrounds. When living with someone else, you need to learn to adapt and learn to live with someone who is not family. Sometimes in a college dorm, there are disagreements and tensions flare but most people are able to work it out which is another ability everyone needs to learn to have
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Going to the fourth paragraph, as I am a college student I do not think that this option or proposition is “attractive”. They seem to be eliminating students and telling them that they are not good enough to live at the school. Next, some conditions that I would expect could include, cheaper costs, free/better parking, and safe atmosphere/neighborhood. Some things that I could or would expect to learn from this experience would include, how to live with others, time management, and gaining more knowledge about yourself. And don’t forget the weight! I think that these things are possible to learn from this experience, for you are going to be independent and alone without your parents.
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Friedersdorf proposes to replace the system by having elite colleges bring in students from community colleges, vocational schools, and technical programs. He wants the dorms to be formed by students who have different goals and majors. He wants students to get to know other students who may be different then they are because according to him who you know is important. I don’t think that other elite colleges are going to agree to this because I don’t think they would be willing to kick out some of their own students in order to take students from other schools or programs. He argues that this could help students become better leaders because it will help leaders get to know who they will be leading.
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If someone wanted me to room with someone that had very different views then me, I would not want too room with them. I believe that whoever you surround yourself with has a huge part of who you become to be later in life. If i would surround myself with people who had very different views then me it could lead me in the wrong path. However, I think that everyone needs to be exposed to people with diverse views as we make judgements in every day life. I don’t believe that it is necessary to live with them for a full year. I think that by surrounding yourself to people in everyday life, it allows you to make judgements in everyday life. It is very beneficial to form your judgements based on the beliefs of people around you.
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Overall, I think that the E. Pluribus Dorm is a great idea because young adults need to learn how to work and live amongst different types of backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. However, social issues may arise in this type of environment because people are raised drastically different. In the long run, it is a great idea for young adults to escape their comfort zone and be able to live with different people from different places. Having people that have the same field study should live with one another because it can benefit them. It is all about who you know when entering the employment world, why not give both elite and non-elite an advantage.
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Friedersdorf suggests that we should replace the dorm life that we have now with having students from all over live with each other. I don’t believe that in order for people to work with and get along with each other in the future that they should live with each other while going to college.
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Though I’m only a freshman in college and new to both dorm life and college aspects, I have to say that I don’t find the appeal in what Friedersdorf wants. Truly, I can see his intentions and I know why he wants a change in dorms but I don’t think that it will work as he wants it. Your taking half of the college students- students who paid to be at that particular school- out and put them somewhere they didn’t expect nor desire to be. Personally, if this happened to me I would feel so incredibly uncomfortable in that environment and instead of my education benefiting from the experience, it would have a negative impact. Let’s take into account his opinion that college students need to learn and be among those they wouldn’t normally be in. I find this so untrue as most of who I currently dorm with our people I wouldn’t normally make friends with. We came from all walks of life and get along, all of them with different careers ahead of them. Due to this, I don’t find this particular opinion of his has merit.
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I find that Friedersdorf’s proposal is flawed in many ways. Not all of the people would be fine with the idea of living in a confined space with such numbers. If I were to find arrangements under such circumstances, I would probably loathe my time there. I would consider having a living situation such as this if I had no alternative to this or if normal conditions were overpriced. I would simply like to not have my living conditions change so drastically to fit someone else’s ideals.
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Being a current college student and seeing how the system works not only because that is the way it has always been but being in it now, its nice to see this counter system and how it could potentially work. I would, if the rearrangement didn’t change anything in my tuition, do it. I would love to live with those of the same professional goals as me and learn from as they would learn from me as well. the living situation would have to be further discussed but for the most part I think it would work and I think if it was common knowledge, a lot of people would do it as well. the kinks need to be worked out but all in all I would love to join a program like this one.
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I disagree with this argument on dorms. Dorms allow for students to begin to meet people that differ in culture, traditions, and religion much like the world they will one day face. The interactions that occur while living in a dorm, allow for students to be set up for a world that will hold co-workers, peers, and various other people that will be diverse and in some ways unlike you. The challenge is to begin to find common ground, to realize that even though you may have different cultures, you may not understand their religion, you still respect them for who they are no matter what. We weren’t created to be one uniform nation, we were created to take our differences and remain united under various circumstances. In the small view of dormitory life, people can begin to see those who learn differently, who study differently, and who have different classes. This allows us to understand the human race better, to see that not everyone will learn the same as we do, will do the same with their time and will have the same interests. However, when we begin to see that there is diversity when we begin to find joy in diversity, we begin to see reality, and to find joy in the world we will one day face.
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Personally, I do not think the “E Pluribus Dorm” would be affective in getting students with contrasting degrees or academic habits to learn from each other. Even if it were put in place, there is no guarantee the roommates would have time or want to spend time teaching the other about their studies or interests. I believe no matter what education an individual has, being someone’s roommate on a college or university campus shouldn’t depend on degree or academic success. I also believe students who apply and get into Ivy League or prestigious schools are there for a reason and should not be forced to live off campus risking the possibility of losing the full college experience or not being able to be as involved in one’s school.
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In the first question, the author is proposing to replace housing at colleges with students from multiple colleges to live with each other. Friedersdorf is proposing this because he believes that it would help the students to live with people with different backgrounds so then it would be easier to work with people in the future. I personally disagree with this argument because it will never happen. Colleges want their students to have the full experience of being at their university and that includes living with people who attend the same university as them. Also colleges would not allow this because they would be losing money because their students would not be living in their dorms. Colleges make a lot of their money on people living on campus and they want to make sure that they are making as much money as possible.
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Although this idea of an “E Pluribus Dorm” seems practical at first, it has a few different flaws. Beginning with the university itself, it is highly unlikely that elite universities would agree to something like this. One reason could be because of money (dorms are a major sense of income for universities). Also, part of the “college experience” is in fact, bonding with those that attend the same college/university as you; whether it be sporting events, community gatherings, etc.). Yes, you might be able to bond with the person you are living with, but if they don’t attend the same school as you, you might slowly feel a disconnect from your own university. As a freshman, I can easily say that if I didn’t have a roommate that attended the same college as I, it would be much more difficult for me to branch out and go to different events by myself.
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Friedersdorf’s proposal would not be attractive at all to me. I would not feel comfortable living with people who are completely different than me. It would be ok for a weekend but not for a whole school year. I would consider the proposal if it was relatively cheaper than other dorms, but other than that I do not think I would try it out.
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The term that Friedersdorf coined, “E Pluribus Dorm” plays off the term “E Pluribus Unum” which means out of many. The term is used by the United States on all of it’s currency. He is implying that many people can fit in to one dorm by saying E Pluribus Dorm.
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I think that Friedersdorf proposes a great idea for the “E Pluribus Dorm” considering that there can be a potential of it to possibly break off the little cliques in college campuses that can be around. It can definitely present different views & shows appreciation for people with different backgrounds & will get to help to socialize with others to get to know them more. Though it is a great idea, there will always be students or someone to not fully acknowledge the socioeconomic background of others or just the differences of others in general.
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Friedersdorf’s idea is both beneficial and in a way cause trouble for students at an Ivy League school. His idea is beneficial because it gives the students from community college or technical school the opportunity to associate with students who are in different schools and also to be given the chance to experience dorm life. I feel It will be more beneficial for the students from colleges that aren’t from a Ivy League, rather the students at an Ivy League would think it is too much of a hassle. Students from an Ivy League may not always get along with other colleges, thinking they may be better than them and may not even associate with them. In my opinion, I think it would be a great experience for all students, and may even cause a big change in the lives of all students.
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Friedersdorf proposes to replace dorm life with a different living arrangement by combining people from multiple types of colleges and trade schools. By doing this students would be surrounded with people from all different walks and ways of life, people from different cultures and different opinions. This gives the “future leaders” the opportunity to interact with who they would be “leading”. This would be a huge reality check for so many people, because of the different backgrounds they come from no two people would be alike.
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Friedersdorf proposes the idea of dorming with people that go to different colleges. He states that by doing so, it will allow for diversity among students and it will allow us to grow as individuals as oppose to just dorming with those that attend our school. While this idea may sound great, it complicates the system in many ways. It would mean that half the students that dorm in a different campus, would have to commute to their school. As a current student who dorms, I personally would not like the idea of dorming with students that do not attend my school. I think that if they want to live in a different campus, then they should just attend that school. I want to be able to grow with the students I attend school with.
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Friedersdorf’s proposal would not seem advantageous to students who attend an elite school and a junior college. Although they are going to school for the same reasons, their frame of minds might be different which can hinder each others study habits etc.
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I fully understand what his goal is and why he feels this would be beneficial. However, I do not think that this would fully work in the long run. The hope that putting people of different culture in the same area, especially college age, to change views and gain knowledge of other social classes wouldn’t work. In my opinion it would just cause a divide on the campuses. It is better to keep people in the locations of which they have worked towards. People go to campuses with the hope .
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When Friedersdorf proposes that half of the dorm students should come from other places like community colleges or trade schools, I was not fond of the idea. For me personally, I like to have someone around me that I can easily get along with and not have to worry about getting to know them more. This proposal seems like it would just add even more stress to my daily activities that I do not have the time for. I think colleges should stick to letting people room together with common intrests. This makes it easier for the students to adapt to the enviornment and gives them more confidence. As a current college student that lives in a dorm, I can tell you from personal experience that living with someone with common interests makes life much easier.
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Friedersdorf wants to integrate students form vocational and elite schools into the same dorms which will solve the problem he poses as institutional elitism. He believes by doing so students from elite schools and less elite schools will be able to learn from each other and prevent those from the more selective schools from looking down on the rest of us. The idea seems to have merit in theory, but doesn’t in reality. I work in construction and only have a high school diploma, yet we work with architects and engineers daily. If the architects and engineers act elitist and try to put down the trades, the jobs won’t get finished and neither parties will make any money. The problem doesn’t exist. We are forced to work with one another in the real world. Sure, there are elitists-but it ins’t because they went to a certain school or stayed with smart people during college.
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I feel like living in the dorms would be very effective, however, what Friederdorf is proposing is that people from other schools should be mixed. I feel like that will cause a lot of conflict because of how uncomfortable that will feel. It is not right to force student to interact with uncommon people who they may not get along with because of the different schools they go to. For instance, one who goes to a university, may thing they are better than ne who goes to the community college. overall it is not a good idea.
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I see both good and bad in Friedersdorf’s proposal. If you are replacing half of the students from an elite school with students from either community colleges or trade schools, you have to ask a few questions. First of all, how are these new students paying the elite universities? Elite education comes with a price, one we can assume the community college students can’t afford. Also, what curriculum is being taught by the universities to these new students? Again, elite education is not something for everyone. Most students who attend these colleges have excelled in academics their entire life, they have taken prep classes, and even attended special schools. So either the university would be forced to change curriculum, or leave the average student behind.
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Friedersdorf has a great proposal. However, I don’t agree with him. It’s irrational that someone who may attend a community college, because it’s their cheaper option, would have to pay housing for an elite university like Stanford. Plus, living the dorm life exposes people to different people and different cultures. It allows you to broaden your aspects of life and understand the way people are the way they are.
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I personally would not mind the merge of the different students. I do not attend an elite university, and I think it would be interesting to live with someone who does go to an elite school. They may be able to motivate me to work harder, study more, and get better grades. There are a lot of benefits about people with different interests and backgrounds coming together in order to create a healthy environment. Personally, I think it would be more difficult for the elite university student to live with a student not in an elite university because of the different work ethics that they may have. This could create a possible conflict between the two. Overall, I do not think it is a bad idea, and I would be okay with this dorm style.
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Friederdorf’s proposal would be attractive for out-of-state students. If we had he ability to choose our roommates, then the dorm life would be consider to be more appealing to college students. Living in the dorm rather than off campus, is attractive for those with scholarships and grants that paid for room and board and had a place to reside for free. Rooming with random people with different backgrounds, sound amazing until problems come up. All the tension builds up and creates an awkward living space for everyone.
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I am a college student and his proposal is not very attractive to me. I like only living around people who go to the same school as me and attend the same classes. If I was going to a community college I don’t think I would want to live in a dorm, I’d rather live at home. The only reason I live in a dorm is because I am so far away from home. Dorm life is not ideal and I would not want to live in one if I didn’t have to. I would only consider living in a dorm if my parents wouldn’t allow me to live at home. I would expect to learn about the life of an ivy league student.
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