The women of first west central in Wesley, with their Resident Assistant, Deondra Jacobs, Nassau, Bahamas, sophomore, had t-shirts made to show their pride in their first-year hall.

When Lisa Hoehn, Ann Arbor sophomore, transferred to Albion at the beginning of this year, she knew where she did and didn’t want to live before she even got here.

Hoehn said she planned on living with two friends from home— one who was transferring with her and one who had attended Albion the year before.

Before Hoehn even had a good understanding of where all of the residence halls were on campus and what they were called, she had made up her mind that Twin was the place to be for sophomores, and Wesley definitely was not.

“We knew we didn’t want Wesley,” Hoehn said. “Partially because I wanted to live with people my own age, and I didn’t think that I’d really be able to adjust into my class if we lived in Wesley.”

Residence halls, like fraternities, can function like mini communities. Students within the same residence halls share the same common areas, are affected by the same building related issues, and answer to the same resident directors.

According to Scott Melzer, assistant professor of sociology, this shared living space can create group identities.

“Whether it’s being proud of your state, city, block, or building, people identify with their location and sometimes judge others based on where they come from,” Melzer said. “In the more extreme case, you have gang members literally killing in defense of the streets they grew up on. Obviously, college students aren’t as attached to their dorms or apartments, but there’s still a sense of space and place that develops.”

Melzer says that this idea of group identities can, in turn, create labels of outside groups.

“Labels are shortcuts for describing a group,” Melzer said. “They may not accurately represent the kinds of people who live on a particular street or in a particular building, but these labels are used to reduce and simplify how much information we encounter.”

Jessica Hood, Harwood Heights, Ind., senior, agrees, having been labeled her first year when she lived in Seaton.

“I don’t remember anyone ever actually saying anything to us but I know some people thought [firstyear Seaton residents] were the more ‘studious’ types,” Hood said.

On the other hand, Hood admits to having preconceived ideas of Wesley residents as well.

“It sounds dumb, but being in Seaton made me feel out of the loop,” Hood said. “I didn’t really know what was normal for college first-years to do. I just remember almost being nervous to go to Wesley sometimes.”

Despite the possibility of being inaccurately labeled, Melzer sees positive aspects of living in residential halls.

“There’s definitely some value in being thrown together with strangers and having to learn to coexist despite numerous personal differences,” Melzer said. “Future personal and professional relationships will require students to tap into their dorm life experiences.”

Firas Marenkos, Port Huron junior, understands the importance of finding a balance of social and academic demands on his time based on his living experiences at school. Since his first year, Marenkos has lived in Wesley, the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity house, Mitchell Towers and, currently, Whitehouse.

“I can get more work done [in a dorm], but that is my personal preference,” Marenkos said. “A lot of people do well or better in a frat house, especially a few of the guys I knew while in DTD.”

Greek life adds another facet to group living identities. Currently on Albion’s campus, the six men’s social fraternities have houses where most, if not all, members reside.

The seven social sororities or female fraternities on Albion’s campus do not have residential houses.

Not only do Greek students living together share a group identity in regards to their housing but also an even greater connection through their fraternities or sororities.

Melzer suggests the possibility of a greater split between Greeks and non-Greeks on campus if all Greek students isolated in their respective houses.

Hood agrees. “I definitely feel that there would be more rivalries [between Greek women] if we had to live together,” Hood said. “It would be much more exclusive, I feel like it wouldn’t allow people to make their own friends out of sorority life very well. That sends the message that you are only supposed to be very close to your sisters.”

Hood defends her point by looking at the fraternities.

“I mean you hear about how different houses hate each other,” Hood said. “You do see guys getting along in class or on sports teams, but besides a select few, I think it’s very rare for fraternity guys to mingle and become very close with those in other houses.”

Melzer says that on the larger scale, living in any sort of campus housing can provide a shared experience for all residents.

“Students moving into a dorm or apartment fresh out of high school face an abrupt change of life,” Melzer said. “For students living at home still, the transitions are fewer, but they may have a more difficult time establishing new relationships and identities because they may be torn between their old and new lives.”