A dormitory or dorm is a
place to sleep. The word derives from the French dormir, to
sleep. Dormir, in turn, derives from the Latin word dormīre,
also meaning to sleep.
Dormitories are usually referred to as "dorms." The word is used
in three contexts:
* room with many beds (a sleeping dormitory) (common UK usage);
* building with many small private rooms (a dormitory building)
(common US usage);
* A converted sleeper car used strictly as the staff's sleeping
quarters on a passenger train. See Dorm car
Many colleges and universities are now using the term residence
hall (UK: halls of residence) instead of dormitory. This is
based on the concept that if a dormitory is a place to sleep,
then the term "residence hall" coveys a learning atmosphere
which many residential living quarters have today. In a
residence hall, a student might find a faculty member living in
a "faculty fellow" apartment, as well as additional classroom,
work, and leisure space.
Sleeping dormitory
A common usage of the term "dormitory" is for a large room with
many single beds. This is the common UK usage. Examples are
found in many rooming houses such as hostels. The room typically
has very few furnishings except for beds. Such rooms can contain
anywhere from three to approx 50 beds (though such very large
dormitories are rare except perhaps as military barracks). Such
rooms provide little or no privacy for the residents, and very
limited storage for personal items in or near the beds.
Dormitory buildings
Potomac Hall, second-largest dormitory at James Madison
University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Dormitories on JMU's west
campus are named for significant individuals, while those on the
east campus are named for natural features in Virginia.
Enlarge
Potomac Hall, second-largest dormitory at James Madison
University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Dormitories on JMU's west
campus are named for significant individuals, while those on the
east campus are named for natural features in Virginia.
At boarding schools, colleges, and universities, the word
dormitory is used to describe the entire building used to house
students. It is this usage which is much more common in the
United States, although university staff frequently prefer to
use the term "residence hall" or simply "hall". Similarly, in UK
universities these buildings are usually called Halls of
residence (commonly referred to as halls), except at Oxford,
Cambridge, and Durham where the residential accommodation is
incorporated each college's complex of buildings, and there is
no specific term for it (members of the college who live in its
own buildings are said to be "living in").
Most colleges and universities provide (usually for a fee)
single or multiple occupancy rooms for their students. These
building consist of many such rooms, like an apartment building,
and the number of rooms varies quite widely from just a few to
hundreds. The largest dormitory building is Bancroft Hall at the
United States Naval Academy.
Formerly, many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere housed
employees in dormitories. This practice has dwindled, but
continues in many other countries.
Dormitories have replaced barracks at many U.S. military
installations.
Typically, these dorm rooms have about 15 by 15 ft (21 square
meters) of floor space, and provide the following minimal
furnishings:
* Twin XL bed (sometimes in a bunk-bed configuration)
* Desk
* Mirror
* Closet space (sometimes)
* Drawers (clothes storage) (sometimes)
* Window
* Sink with running water (rarely)
Most often, bathrooms are provided for a group of rooms, which
provide shower, toilet, and sink facilities.
In the U.S., dormitories are most often segregated by gender,
with males living in one group of rooms, and females in another.
Some dorms are single-sex with varying limits on visits by
persons of each gender. Some colleges and universities offer
co-ed dorms, where either males and females reside on separate
floors but in the same building or where both sexes share a
floor but with individual rooms being single sex. In the early
2000's, dorms that allowed people of opposite sexes to share a
room became available in some universities. [1]. Some colleges
and university co-ed dorms also feature co-ed bathrooms.
Most dorms are much closer to campus than comparable private
housing such as apartment buildings. This convenience is a major
factor in the choice of where to live since living physically
closer to classrooms is often preferred.
Halls located away from university facilities are likely to have
extra amenities such as a recreation room or bar. Commonly they
also have Internet facilities, either through a network
connection in each student room or a central computer cluster
room. Catered halls may charge for food by the meal or through a
termly subscription. They may also contain basic kitchen
facilities for student use outside catering hours. Most halls
contain a laundry room, sometimes overcrowded.
Hall governments
At some schools, each dormitory or hall has its own hall
council. Where they exist, such individual councils are usually
part of a larger organization called, variously, Residence Hall
Association or Resident Students Association, which typically
provides funds and oversees the individual building council.
Hall councils plan social events and voice concerns for their
residents to the university or college staff responsible for
overall management of halls.
Housekeeping
University halls typically have housekeeping staff to maintain
the cleanliness of common rooms including lobbies and bathrooms.
Students are normally required to maintain the cleanliness of
their own rooms and private or semi-private bathrooms, where
offered.
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