By Hope Steffensen, EPPS Freshman
Privacy isn’t one of the things I thought I would
discover when I came to college. It’s not something one thinks of in the
typical college experience. Being from a family of six, privacy never was a
common occurrence in my house. So, when I looked into coming to the University
of Texas at Dallas, I was extremely surprised to learn that there were private
bedrooms in the freshman suite.
All the other colleges I’d looked into had pretty
terrible freshman housing. A freshman dorm room was a cramped little space with
two beds shoved in the corners for a couple of poor freshman to cram into with
all of their belongings. You also had to provide your own furniture, providing
you could fit it in.
When I saw the UT Dallas dorm, I was sort of shocked
and asked the person giving the tour if this was the set-up in all the dorms.
The tour-guide was a little embarrassed, but he answered, “I know it isn’t the
best set-up now, but when you’re a junior and a senior, you can move into the
suites.”
Hearing that, I sarcastically thought, “Oh yes,
don’t worry about the small rooms darling. It will only be for half of your
undergraduate experience, so it is no big deal.” I liked other universities I
visited, but the rooming was unacceptable.
When I told my dad about the freshman dorms at UT Dallas, he was sold
even before I was. “You have to go there!” he exclaimed. “You’re going to love
the privacy.” And, sure enough, my dad was right.
It is so convenient to have my own space here in
college. The fully furnished room gives me my own dresser, my own desk and
chair and my own closet space. I love it. I can have my blinds open and closed
when I want because no one is there to complain about it being too light or
dark. I don’t have to share my desk or dresser space. In my bedroom, it is all
about what I want and when I want it. I have autonomy, and that is something
the freshman college experience should be all about. 
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