"Scrabcake" described Minden 306 as "the presidential suite of dorm rooms," a large single with a private bathroom. "This surprisingly large double resembles a prison cell upon first entrance," noted "Chalkazulu," writing about Archibald 125. To "Timmy," Caswell 311 has "arguably the best view on campus."
Scrabcake, Chalkazulu and Timmy all reviewed their rooms on the Room Review, a new Web site run by the Residential Council to help students research on-campus housing options in preparation for the annual housing lottery.
"The Room Review is exactly designed to be a Critical Review of dorm rooms," said Adam Deitch '05, chair of the ResCouncil, referring to the semi-annual student review of courses.
The Review, available on the ResCouncil Web site, offers official information about dorm buildings and floor plans as well as student reviews of individual rooms. The reviews can be searched by building, type of room, room rating or by keywords in the review text itself.
The site was designed by Brendan Hargreaves '06, chair of the lottery committee on ResCouncil, and went active about a month ago. Currently there are about 75 reviews posted, and the site is visited approximately 20 times per day, according to Hargreaves.
"Brown's current system allows students to pick the actual room they want," Hargreaves said, but variation among the rooms across and within buildings can cause confusion or unexpected consequences. The site, with its reviews of individual rooms, addresses that need.
"Our review allows you to review a room even if you don't live in it," Hargreaves said. "It's an open forum for both positive and negative feedback."
Deitch and Hargreaves both said current first-years, the students least familiar with the housing lottery, will get the most out of the Review.
"I think the site ... will most benefit rising sophomores, for sure," Deitch said.
Hargreaves agreed, noting that "a lot of upperclassmen know what kind of room they want," but "a lot of the rising sophomores have to take what they can get" and will benefit most from knowing more about their options.
The Review will also provide a source of information about student housing and problems that should be addressed to ResCouncil.
"It's beneficial to get feedback from students, and this is one method to get feedback from the whole campus," Hargreaves said.
ResCouncil intends the Room Review to be a long-term resource for Brown students looking to navigate the often-intimidating housing lottery.
"I think it will be more useful in years to come than it will be this year," Deitch said, since over time more students will add to the database and eventually, it is hoped, it will have one or more reviews for every room on campus.
"Every person who enters the housing lottery will have a good idea of the rooms" available, Deitch said.
