Aside from location on campus, Schwalm is the place to be. Schwalm has been tagged as not-so clean, hot, loud, other discriminating words, etc. When I spoke to future baseball teammates as a senior in high school, they said Schwalm was hot, social, a small walk, and one of the better places to live on campus. However, after living here for my first semester I can finally form my own opinion (which is obviously the correct opinion) and share it to those who do not live here.

Schwalm is a traditional-style Res hall that divides gender by wing. The traditional style means that there are two students per room that share a community bathroom with everyone in their wing; trust me, community bathrooms are not as bad as what it sounds like. I wasn’t necessarily ecstatic when I heard that but I decided to give it a try and now I have 0 issues with it. They are always cleaned and there is basically no wait ever. When I said Schwalm divided genders by wing, well, that’s pretty self-explanatory; if you look at the Res hall from the front, guys will occupy the right side with the girls on the left. There isn’t a divider or a door in the halls to separate the girls side from the guys; you can start in one corner, pass all the guys rooms, and if you keep walking you’ll end on the girls side without having to pass any doors. I personally like that because you get to experience life with both sides and make new friends. Oh yeah, one more note: Schwalm doesn’t have air conditioning which isn’t fun for the first month of school, but that can be combatted with a fan or two. And when weather starts to cool you’ll probably forget that there isn’t AC.

One of the reasons I choose Schwalm is because most everyone I spoke with said it was social – they weren’t lying. If someone is in their room, 9 times out of 10 their door will be open. Once friends are made on your floor, if your door is open it’s common for people to just come to your room and see what’s up. (Note: one way to make friends is to have your door open.) They’ll stay for a minute and see what you’re doing or see what you’re watching then be on their way. I usually chill in my room so I don’t normally go room-to-room, but to count the times it has happened to me I would need the fingers and toes of about 5-10 people (mainly because I have a couch and my TV is always on).

Schwalm is pretty active on top of people walking the halls. Something it’s famous for is the Snow Bowl. Next to our Res hall is a small ditch with a big, flat ground called Rhiney Bowl. During the winter Schwalm puts on a two-hand-touch football tournament between each wing; example: one game could be first-floor guys vs. third-floor girls. Another informative/entertaining event that is hosted by the Residential Life Association (RHA) is called Sex in the Dark. Students go down to the basement where it is divided into a guys and girls side by the Schwalm Hall Director and Resident Assistants. Upon entry, students can write down any question they wish for the opposite gender to answer. The beauty of this is with a dividing sheet and all of the lights off, you cannot tell who is answering questions. It’s led by Resident Assistants and anyone can write down/answer questions. Also, since Schwalm is the only Res hall with a flat ground, some campus events are also held here. One club, Manchester Activities Council, put on a paintball tournament that was also held in Rhiney Bowl.

Though Schwalm is the farthest Res hall from campus, it only takes about 5 minutes to walk from one corner to the other. It’s warm on the inside for the first month or so, then you don’t really mind having no AC. Many of my friends live here, some which I have met by having my door open, and some even moved from another Res hall called Garver to Schwalm. Schwalm is the best, even though I know you’ll read about the other Res halls and the author says their hall is the best (they’re wrong… just saying). I guess you’ll have to live in Schwalm to believe me. 

Nick Rush ’20 is studying Sports Management and plans on minoring in another business area. He plays baseball for MU, and he plans on working in the sports industry after graduation.