A Darnall Hall resident takes on its bad reputation
‘It may be a shithole, but it’s our shithole’
Darnall Hall, which made it into the Huffington’s Post’s The 10 Worst Dorms in America, is notorious for its poor facilities and its distance from the dining hall, other freshman dorms, the library, and other important campus locations.
Yet Darnall (“Dar-hell”) is also known for being one of the tightest-knit communities on campus.
As a freshman occupying Darnall 6 (D6) for eleven weeks now, I’ve decided if I had been given the choice in July to choose a different dorm, I would stay here.
I’ve also decided every aspect of Darnall’s reputation is true.
The perks: the staff are friendly, and the RAs are wonderful. While Leo’s is far away, Epi is right under us. The Leavey Center is closer to us than any other dorm.
The set-up of having rooms in a loop surrounding the common room also keeps the community and residents close.
Facilities, on the other hand, are nothing to be proud of.
I know on my floor, our water fountain is continuously flooding the hallway. We’re lucky if we have all five showers working (so far, the best we’ve come to is four out of five).
Two residents, including myself, have experienced leaking ceilings from a little rain, and we’ve all made a new mouse friend who took up residence on the floor.
Two of my hallmates’ floor after a rain storm. A leak in the ceiling caused a water buildup under their light fixture, which subsequently shattered
The ceiling of the D6 women’s bathroom
I asked other residents of Darnall their opinions on various aspects of their living situation.
On facilities
Chris Mills, D2, said: “Bathrooms are in disrepair, washers leave your clothes dirtier than they were before, and there are mice and rats everywhere.
“Pretty bad considering how much we pay for housing, even though it is still liveable.”
Chris Mills on D2
Lane Easterling, D5 said: “Darnall’s elevators and bathrooms are by far the worst facilities. They are continually malfunctioning and causing issues.
“One of our toilets overflowed and it wasn’t cleaned up for the whole weekend.”
Susana Gil Del Real, D6, added: “There’s a leak in the bathroom ceiling, so it’s always really cold in there because we’re exposed to the outside air.
“And this week we had only one shower in the girl’s bathroom that worked. Which sucked. The laundry room is disgusting as well.”
On distance
Group photo of Darnall Hall residents
Chris Mills, D3, said: “Distance from other dorms makes having a friend group in Darnall pretty essential.”
And Lane Easterling, D5, agreed: “Darnall seems pretty far from Leo’s, especially on days when you don’t want to go outside or leave your bed.”
Susana Gil Del Real, D6 added: “So so so far! And it’s like at the top of a hill as well. At least the campus is pretty small, so it’s not so bad.”
Then I asked them if they would have chosen to live elsewhere had they been given the choice
Chris Mills, D3: “Based purely on facilities, I’d much rather live in Harbin or VCW. However, it’s hard to tell if you would meet the same kind of people living somewhere else.
“That being said, you’re likely to make friends anywhere at Georgetown.”
Lane Easterling, D5: “I think I might stick with Darnall if I had the choice, but I don’t think I could definitively say that right now.”
Susana Gil Del Real, D6: “We’re all really close friends, and we go to a lot of things together. We usually arrive at parties in packs of ten. That being said, I would not choose to live here.”
The verdict
Not everyone agrees with me.
I know that Darnall is far from perfect. Most of the facility problems can be credited to the fact that it is just an old building that has been inhabited by hundreds of students each year. I also know that upkeep isn’t always easy and that administrators have more important things to take care of than a few broken showers.
But I’ve never lived in another Georgetown dorm, so I don’t know where I’d get a better experience.
There are mixed opinions on whether to stay or go, but we all know for certain that this is where we live, and we just have to accept it. I know the D6 fam is close, and this is a common dynamic on other floors as well.
As my friend Peter said: “It may be a shithole, but it’s our shithole.”
My closest friends at Georgetown are all from my floor, and it is because of knowing them now that I wouldn’t trade this experience to live in New South, or Harbin, or VCW.