Life in residence
Just like summer camp
KERRI WOLOSZYN STAFF
On a wintry Sunday morning in the lunch room in Pembina Hall, five friends sit and eat together laughing and joking. They could be any group of friends, really, and yet they sit together for one reason. These five people, most from different parts of the country, sit together because they met in residence.
Mallory Ryan, Jessica MacDonald, Brendan Rempel and Darcy Vermeulen live in Taché Hall on the University of Manitoba campus. Their friend Karen Hodge does not yet attend the university but is excited to start her undergraduate degree in the new year. She has already found a place to live in residence, in University College. Ryan is originally from Minnesota; MacDonald hails from Vancouver and the rest are from the town of MacGregor, Man..
Many different people coming together because of a single commonality. It seems like the dream and goal of living in residence. And sometimes, as with this group, it works.
Vermeulen, one of the most vocal members of the group, seems particularly excited to talk about his experience. He explains that he has met many people in residence that have become lasting friends. “I’ve met some people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I’m glad I met them and they’re people that I’ll probably be friends with for the rest of my life.”
The experience of living in residence is, quite obviously, very different from any other. Vermeulen explains that living in such close proximity to people your own age has positives and negatives. “There’s definitely a ‘go out and party hard,’ ‘study when you have the time’ attitude in rez,” he said.
Ryan interjects, “sleep when you’re allowed to.”
Vermeulen continues, “Your sleep pattern is completely shot. It’s like go to bed at four, whatever.”
“Napping is a big thing,” adds Ryan.
“Napping is huge! I’m worse than probably the rest of you guys. I’m like three-hour naps in the middle of the day,” says Vermeulen.
“But it’s worth it. I enjoy it,” says Ryan.
Vermeulen’s room is in the dark, rather uninviting layer of Taché Hall. According to the group, the building was once used by the army for a barracks or, perhaps, a hospital. It is, they say, supposedly haunted by a blonde girl. As Vermeulen enters his room he apologizes for the very tame mess on the floor. Inside, the room is cheerful and, surprisingly, rather large.
Vermeulen explains that he is very happy about the size of the room and notes that it could be much worse. According to Vermeulen,
at one time the room was used by up to four people on bunk beds. As it is now, the room is large enough for a bed, a computer a large workspace, a few plants and a microwave. To the walls, Vermeulen has taped inspirational quotes. “I came, I saw, I conquered.” — Julius Caesar.
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More than 900 students live in
the five residence buildings on the
U of M campus. The students who
live in these buildings are from inprovince,
throughout Canada and
the rest of the world. Each building
has a group of Resident Advisors
(RAs) that are housed on each floor
as a way to make the experience
easier for the students who live
there.
Sid Rashid is a third-year science student hoping to go into law. He is an RA in the Mary Speechly residence. Rashid explained that the function of an RA is to help the students, 90 per cent of whom are in their first year of university, make the transition into residence life and the university as a whole. Rashid noted that RAs also help students with more serious problems.
“We’re there for their questions, concerns, problems. Anything from drug abuse, to alcohol abuse, to sexual assault, to having trouble with courses. We try to show them what the university has to offer, what residence has to offer, try to get them involved, try to get some programs going,” he said.
Rashid adds that the culture of residence is vast and diverse and that perhaps there is nothing definite that can be said about it. “You get so many different people from so many different backgrounds, from so many different places in Manitoba, you get a bunch of international students that it’s really a big mix of
Beacham explained that her life in residence has not always been a walk in the park. When she first moved into the place it was a mess. The paint was peeling from the walls and there were stains all over the floor.
a bunch of different cultures.”
The common assumption that residence is one big party is also quelled by Rashid. He claimed that students simply need to work out what they see as most important in their university experience. “The opportunity is out there for everyone to participate whether they choose to or not. Different people have different priorities when they come to residence.”
Rashid explained that when he first came to university he had no intention of living in residence. It wasn’t until his father explained how easy it would be that he changed his mind. He noted that most of the people he talked to about their experience in residence have had similar sentiments.
“I’ve had an amazing experience and everyone I’ve talked to who leaves residence has said ‘Oh yeah, it was a lot of fun.’ For most people the most difficult part of residence is the discipline that you have to face. There are so many different people and you make so many different friends . . . everyone is going out on some night of the week. You have to have the discipline to know that I should probably be studying at that time. That’s the only downside I’ve heard to residence. Of course, there are a few others like some people’s rooms are a little smaller, there are communal washrooms, but all the positives outweigh the negatives, big time.”
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In 2004 Heidi LeMay came
to Winnipeg from the suburbs
of Minneapolis. She decided to
live in residence and ended up in
Taché Hall. Soon after she moved
in homophobic messages began
appearing, written on her door.
“I was very out in residence and it wasn’t a shock to any of the people. I had really great neighbours and stuff. Nobody cared, it was never an issue but I totally started getting homophobic things written on the door. And at first I thought it was just stupid drunk people because there are parties all the time in residence. It ended up getting to the point where it was death threats, kind of. Well, not kind of — it was death threats.
“So I moved to Speechly and then in Speechly it was even worse. I went from this huge room in Taché to this tiny little closet in Speechly where it was co-ed. I was living in an all female wing in Taché and it was all co-ed in Speechly. The walls were paper-thin there, and I could hear my neighbour masturbating every night. It was so disgusting. It was repulsive. So I ended up moving out at the end of March, early April.”
LeMay never found out who was writing the messages on her door but was happy with her decision to leave.
Despite the fact that her residence experience was shortlived, LeMay noted that she still met a few people she was friendly with. “I was on pretty good terms with a lot of people who were on my floor. My RA was really awesome. When I told her about what was going on she totally wanted to help and make it better, which is cool.”
LeMay explained that she saw residence as a place where people came to party and to stick to what they already knew. “It’s definitely a party culture. There are parties happening all the time, every night, somewhere in rez. It seemed like a lot of people knew each other from their high school that I was around. It was interesting to see all these people who were part of a clique in high school and then they were here and they were like, ‘Oh, we’re going to stay with our friends and not make any new friends.’”
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Thousands of miles away from
Taché Hall and Mary Speechly is
the Acadia Park family housing at
the University of British Columbia
(UBC). Acadia Park is where Marci
Beacham, a student working on
her master’s degree in library and
information studies, lives with her
husband. Beacham recently moved
back to Canada after a four-year
stint living and working in South
Korea. Beacham decided that it
would be difficult to find a landlord
that would be willing to rent to
her after living so long in another
country. She concluded that living
in residence would be her best
option.
“It can be very difficult after living out of the country for so long, to get landlords to want to rent to you, as I learned from previous experience. I wouldn’t have a previous landlord that they could easily use as a reference, and I would be unemployed having just left my job in Korea. Plus, I wasn’t getting any student loans . . . which a landlord could consider proof of income. Also, my husband would be looking for work once we got back to the country. All in all, on paper we would not be very pretty financially. Also, it seemed like a daunting task to look for an apartment from overseas, as you can’t really see the place, meet the landlord, or see the neighbourhood. Residence seemed easy and a safe bet for a decent place to live,” said Beacham.
Acadia Park is a different kind of residence experience to be sure. Beacham and her husband live in a high-rise that is mainly occupied by couples. There are a few families with children in the building as well but, she explained, if there are more than two children in a family, or if the child is older than two years of age, the family will live in one of the Acadia Park townhouses. There are about 200 people living in her building, not including children, with roughly 2,500 people living in the surrounding Acadia Park area.
In describing the area surrounding her building, Beacham said, “The area is surrounded by walkways, green grassy areas and parks. There are very few roads for driving which makes it very safe for kids playing outside . . . There is a community centre that has programs for families and kids, as well as some for us kidless- types, like yoga. We recently had a great Halloween trick-or-treating, costume party and contest for the kids. There is also a daycare, elementary school, and high school within very short walking distance.
We also have a community garden that anyone can use. I am really excited to grow some vegetables this summer.”
Beacham explained that her life in residence has not always been a walk in the park. When she first moved into the place it was a mess. The paint was peeling from the walls and there were stains all over the floor. These initial problems forced the couple to move in on the third of the month instead of the first, while the apartment was being cleaned and painted. Beacham said that this has been her only real setback living in residence. “The management is really good at keeping up with maintenance, since the first incident, and our neighbours are really friendly.”
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On the other side of the lunch
room in Pembina Hall from
Vermeulen’s group sits Andry Kolmakov, alone. Kolmakov has
been living in residence since
September. He transferred to the U
of M from the United States but is
originally from Russia. Komalkov
explains that his experience has
been better than he expected, except
for the food. He says that he’s
made most of his friends through
class but they all happen to live in
residence anyway. Kolmakov says,
“There are a lot of parties where
residences get together but usually a
group of people, friends, will hang
out. So it’s still a little separated.”
In the middle of the room are two friends, Matt Watson and Anders Johnson, who talk about their experiences making friends and partying. Anders says that residence is “like summer camp throughout the whole year.” Watson and Johnson know Ryan and strike up a conversation with her before she leaves.
When Vermeulen’s group is finished eating their Sunday breakfast they stand, take their trays with soiled plates to a large steel rack. They place their trays neatly on the rack so someone else can clean them.
Just like summer camp.
