Sweet Studying Suite

by: Xavier Mosere-Storms

Login: Mosereh
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Date: December 21st, 2015
The website domain reads https://housing.wwu.edu/apps/myhousing/
Today is the day. The day that rooming statements are sent.
Here I was, waiting on myhousing, anxious for the moment that the page would load and
inform me of what rooming situation I would be placed into.
Seconds passed.
Finally, with a quick paced click of the refresh button, my destined room showed itself right
in front of me.
Building: Buchanan Towers
Room number: 416A
Room type: Double, BT international community.
That was it.
Now, as an incoming freshman, I only knew what Western Washington University wanted
me to know about Buchanan Towers.
Let me tell you what I learned from the information provided to me.
Buchanan Towers is an eight floor building located on the south side of campus that the
website describes as a great place to live where residents can make themselves a home
away from home. Western Washington University makes it very clear that these towers
hold a supportive living environment for the students and is an important rooming
community for students (source). A special way of showing that they have a supportive
environment in Buchanan Towers is the fact there is a gender-inclusive living option for
students. This is specifically on the third floor only, and is described by the school as an
opportunity to offer students a supportive living environment where room assignment is
not based upon gender. If you havent noticed already, the word supportive is mentioned a
lot for Buchanan Towers.

To the left there is a layout of the suite as they are when

you first walk in. In each suite, there is a letter A room
and a letter B room. According to the image, there are
two beds in each dorm (with the possibility of a bunk
bed), two closets, and two desks. Each suite itself has a
living room area providing a Kitchenette (stove top, oven,
fridge, cabinets, and sink), a couch, and an end table.
Figure 1 - wwu floor plan

So on January 3rd (move in day), I made

my way to the multi-layered building and
was welcomed to the towers as the image
to the right shows.
After staring at the building for a while and
finding out where to go, I finally gathered
up my courage and made my way up to
the room.
Figure 2 - Buchanan towers view

After a completely silent elevator trip up, I looked into the room and saw nothing but a cold
atmosphere, lifeless bed, and dorm room tile. That was my first welcome to Western
Washington University.
After three, which felt like 20, trips up, the room finally was filled. Now, it looked like I had
breathed personality into the space.
I moved the desk perpendicular to the wall that holds the door. This created a space for
secluded studying even in the dark. My textbooks lay to the left along with the mass office
supplies Ive collected. Directly behind the desk is the closet that I claimed as my own and
filled with an (un)necessary amount of clothing that I own.
My bed is made up of multiple layers to create a sense of actual comfortability. There are
two mattress pads, a mattress topper, and a pair of polka dot green sheets creating the
base of my bed. These are all to combat the jail bed discomfort.
Now you may be wondering, as a new student rooming in Buchanan towers, what is the
purpose of this dorm?
For me, this dorm became a place of studying. As a first year student, a study found that
many, First-year university students encounter a plethora of stressors: making new
relationships, ... loss of income..., and developing study habits for a new and challenging
environment while tackling the task of functioning as independent adults.

So as a personal goal to combat these plethora of stressors, I thought it would be nice to

make this dorm a place of studying for myself.
A recent article I came across commented on the five ways to make your dorm room better
for studying. Lets see how 4 out of 5 of the ideas the article brings up compare to
Buchanan Tower suites.

1. Create[ing] The Proper Atmosphere

Doing this in a Buchanan Tower Dorm can be a little bit of a struggle. Typically, you are
alone while studying in the dorm. This means that you are the sole creator of the
atmosphere in the room if your roommate is not in the room. In cases that your roommate
does happen to be in the room, there can be conflicting atmosphere's.
One strength that Buchanan Towers has is the fact that there is enough breathing space
that will allow for two atmospheres to coexist. For example, you could study on one side of
the dorm and create an atmosphere of peace and quiet while on the other side of the room
your roommate can be playing on their phone.
However, there is one major problem about the atmosphere in Buchanan Towers. In a
setting like a library, you are typically surrounded by people who are also studying. This
creates a general atmosphere of hard working individuals.
Many people can get inspired by others around them, and you wont necessarily get that
when you are working alone at a desk. You could potentially be the only one studying on the
entire floor even. This means that you don't naturally get motivation from the atmosphere
around you, and that it takes a lot more work to create your own productive atmosphere.
2. Eliminate All Distractions & 3. Set Aside Your Study Space
I believe that eliminating all distractions in any environment can be difficult, but doing it in
a personal living space is very complicated. This is because you are attempting to study in
your own room. I know this sounds like Im stating the obvious, but the fact that it is your
room can potentially destroy this space as a place of study in Buchanan Tower Suites.
Basically, your room can provide a ton of distractions. For someone who doesnt have much
self-control or has focusing problems this can be a large issue. For example, if I dont isolate
myself to the desk area near the closets, I could potentially end up futzing around on the
laptop instead of studying for the assignment due the next day.
One strength about the Buchanan Tower Suite is the fact that you can hide your distractions
through the placement of your desks. The large floor space (compared to other dorms)
allows for your desk to be moved in ways that can isolate you to only that space. My
roommate Lela Goad told me when I asked her about her last dorm that, The room itself
was perhaps 1/3 the size of my Buchanan Towers room which only allowed 1 person to
squeeze through the long and skinny Fairhaven entryway. This means that you can hide a

majority of your distractions in another part of the room, and not be able to see them.
4. Organize Your Study Space
One large perk of the Buchanan Tower Suites is the
fact that the desk that the room provides itself is large.
It has an extra shelving unit that is placed on top of
the actual desk. This extra shelving unit provides a
back to the desk, and extra room to place material on
as you can see from my desk area pictured.

Figure 3 - My Desk (picture:

taken by me)

For me, this allows for optimal space to place multiple

books. With the extra space, I can properly place all of
my supplies close to me so that they are easily
accessible. As someone who struggles to work with
little material, I feel that this space optimizes my studying.

There are also some smaller strengths and weaknesses that come as using Buchanan
Towers Suites as a place of study.
Studying in your dorm can come with a large perk, as long as you and your roommate have
communicated beforehand. With Buchanan Towers dorms, I found that you can study at any
time of the day without having to worry about transportation back to the dorm, weather, or
judgement from others in the area. As long as your roommate understands, you can
potentially study at 3am in the comfort of your room.
If your roommate happens to not be cooperative with your studying schedule, another perk
of this room is the fact that you have a little living area right outside your dorm door.
This means on days where you have to write a whole essay in one night, you can simply
transport yourself to that area and make as much loud groaning as you need.
For a first year student who enjoys the solitude of their dorm, and feels that they can grow
in this space I find that Buchanan Towers is an easily personalized space for studying. Your
suite can be tailored to your study needs, and I expect to improve in productiveness in the
future. For any new Western Washington University Freshman looking for a productive suite
to study in, I would definitely point you towards Buchanan Towers.