This year, as an incoming freshman, my on-campus dorm living did not meet the standards that I had hoped for.
All I expected was a clean and comfortable room with decent space where I can interact with female counterparts.
Unfortunately, by living in Paddyfote housing, I received the exact opposite.
I had originally signed up to stay in Gibbs Hall last fall, but there were no rooms available due to the largest freshman enrollment that FAMU had ever seen. So as a result, I had to settle for less in terms of price and quality.
Paddyfote housing costs $1,814, which is cheaper than the $2,162 for Gibbs.
Although I saved some money, I was stuck in the smallest dorm on campus. Beforehand I was unaware of the size of the rooms or what the dorm looked like. By reading the exaggerated online description on FAMU’S website I was convinced that it was not as bad as what everyone said.
On move-in day, sadly enough, all the buzz about Paddyfote being the worst dorm on campus was true.
When I first walked in my room with hands full of luggage, I was greeted by my roommate and his family sitting on the bed which was less than two feet from the door.
I was immediately shocked at how small the room was. It was so small that I could literally high five my roommate while lying on the bed. Paddyfote originally housed students with excellent grades. These Dean’s List student’s were only housed one to a room. It seemed like I needed to go back in time.
Along with the lack of space, the room was very warm.
In fact, at one point many rooms within the complex had no air conditioning during those steamy hot summer months.
Residents poured into the housing office to complain about an avoidable problem.
Thankfully my room was on the first floor and not the top where it was the hottest. The only thing we had to cope with the heat was a portable fan and a small rectangular shape that resembled a window you would see on jail…Before moving to Tallahassee, I didn’t even realize how bad bug infestations could get.
This past fall I saw bugs and insects of all sorts and more than likely discovered new ones.
Paddyfote was full of these critters.
Walking in the hallways sometimes I could see cockroaches crawling between cracks trying to sneak into rooms in search of food.
Beatles, spiders, moths, wasps, ants and even lizards have all been spotted.
It was necessary to have a can of bug spray on standby.
But what makes dorm life even harder at Paddyfote: the no coed rule.
It was bad enough that I was trapped in a hot box, but to also to not have the option of coed visitation was horrible.
I am well aware of FAMU’s deep tradition, but it is time for a change.
We are young adults who are mature enough to have room visitations with members of the opposite sex.
Aside from all that I guess you can deduce that dorm life is for the birds… and I’m ready to fly.