“More than beds and bathrooms” (Ohio State’s New Dorms). After passing the ballet on sophomore dorm housing requirements, a large renovation was in order. It was in 2008 when President, at the time, E. Gordon Gee proposed for it to be required that sophomores live on campus. There on out the planning evolved becoming more than just “a place to sleep, study and do laundry” (Ohio State’s New Dorms). “The planning was about more than beds and bathrooms” Dave Isaacs states, the spokesman for the Office of Student Life (Ohio State’s New Dorms).
The university’s new requirements is an attempt to help students stay involved and to increases their chances of succeeding. The plans for the new residential areas were set around the idea that interaction among students and staff is the key to succeeding. Each building now includes meeting and study rooms on each floor, something past residential buildings lacked. Isaac states that, “The program came first and then we deigned the buildings to fit it’ (Ohio State’s New Dorms).
Unlike the older resident halls that were only equipped with a small meeting area on the ground floor, the new residential buildings have a lot more in store. New North District buildings include a spacious lounge, two conference rooms with video display screens, a game room, a communal kitchen, a dining area, a laundry room and study areas on the ground floors, along with the meeting/study areas on each floors. Each building is equipped with common areas where students and faculty can interact in a spacious area still in the residence hall but separate from living areas.
A tradition was started on North campus in the naming of the buildings. Each building is named after an Ohio State alum who is also a deceased veteran. Scott House was named after Robert R. Scott, born in Massillon, Ohio. After attending Ohio State he enlisted into the U.S. Navy in 1938. Scott was killing aboard the U.S.S. California during the Pearl Harbor attack. He was the first former Ohio State student to be awarded a Medal of Honor and he also had a destroyer escort named in his honor (Ohio State’s New Dorms).
Below Scott Hall is the new North Campus District Traditions and a coffee shop that also has a convenience store attached to it. Here students can use one meal sweep to an all- you-can-eat buffet during most hours of the day. The coffee shop takes up the back half of Scott Hall along with the convenience store.
The mortar and brick exterior of the new North Campus Residential buildings works to tie into the old buildings that will remain on campus (Ohio State’s New Dorms). The interior, however, is much more modern and interactive.
Works Cited
“Ohio State’s New Dorms Offer Spaces for Community Experiences.” The Columbus Dispatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.