Not your parents’ dormitory: FSU opens new residence
halls
Susan Hansen
University News
published August 17, 2017
Bright, spacious and comfortable are just a few ways to describe
the two new residence halls Florida State University will open
this fall — providing contemporary on-campus housing opportunities
for more than 900 students.
The two new halls, Magnolia and Azalea, complete a quad of four
new residence halls, joining Dorman and Deviney halls, which
opened in 2015.
The four halls face each other, creating an open courtyard area
with benches and porch swings where students can relax and enjoy
the outdoors. The courtyard’s pathways also provide students
with a convenient route to class.
“The level of quality and attention to detail in these new
residence halls really shows Florida State’s dedication
to providing students with superior places to live,” said
Shannon Staten, FSU’s executive director of university housing.
Though some of the new residence halls share the same names as
their predecessors that have since been torn down, these halls
have come a long way from their old-school brethren.
The four six-story brick buildings feature the same type of amenities
as apartment complexes, like roomy lounge areas with comfortable
seating, flat screen televisions and ping-pong tables, laundry
facilities, full-sized kitchens, large study rooms, along with
24-hour staff and maintenance services— all designed to
make students feel at home without ever having to leave campus.
“We designed these buildings to make students feel like
they are at home,” Staten said. “We also wanted to
create a feeling of community, so we got rid of the long hallways
featured in past halls to really open the interior up.”
The layout of the new halls is suite style, with each two-bedroom
suite housing four students. The rooms are each furnished with
adjustable beds, dressers, chairs, desks and a mini-fridge. There’s
a sink in each bedroom with a shared bathroom and shower in each
suite.
The halls feature amenities designed to serve the needs of today’s
students, like outlets for charging electronics built into the
colorful chairs and couches, creating a perfect studying environment
that’s comfortable and functional.
While many of these amenities are in other residence halls on
campus, the open layout of the newer halls is unique and promotes
a naturally social atmosphere — making it easier for students
to bond and form friendships.
Azalea Hall, which opened this summer, features a new concept
that no other FSU residence hall has — its own 24,000-square-foot
dining area, referred to as "1851".
Located on the ground floor of Azalea Hall, "1851"
offers a variety of dining options: Noles’ Homecoming (comfort
food); Passport (international/healthy); J Street Grille (American
grill); Tuscan Eatery (Tuscan/hearth oven) and The Canteen (a
convenience store/coffee shop).
The new dining area is expected to open Aug. 28 and is in a perfect
spot for students, faculty, staff and the Tallahassee community
to grab a bite to eat for lunch or dinner. Conveniently located
on Jefferson Street across from several sorority houses and the
FSU Police Department, "1851" connects the residents
of Azalea to the bustling campus activity with huge windows overlooking
the dining area.
“This is a brand-new concept,” Staten said. “We’ve
never built a dining facility within a residence hall and wanted
to continue with the open environment theme by putting in wide
windows so residents feel connected to the outside community.”
While Azalea residents can enjoy the view over the dining area,
they are still safe behind locked doors.
“Student safety is our number one priority,” Staten
said. “The residence halls are locked 24/7, and only students
who are residents can get into the building.”
Only a few students had the privilege to stay in Azalea Hall
during the summer semester, and were pleased with the new amenities
and features the new residence hall offers.
The move-in date for all the residence halls is Wednesday, Aug.
23. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of Magnolia
and Azalea halls will take place from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday,
Oct. 4.
“I think by providing students with a quality place to live
we are helping put them on the path to success,” Staten
said.
© Florida State University. All Rights Reserved.
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A memorial for our fallen dorms
Deion A. Sainvil, Staff Writer
Tallahassee Democrat
published January 27, 2016
Broken heaters, moldy muffins, dead roaches that stay in
the closet year round, these are all the gems of freshmen year
dorm living. Well, for some. Not everyone has or had it rough
and pretty soon nobody will. It’s the end of an era as FSU
prepares to do away with community style dorms. Deviney and Dorman
were demolished and resurrected last year as suite style dorms
and now Kellum is next to get torn down. From now on the negative
connotation that comes with the name "Kellum" is something
that only the Class of 2018 has full understanding of. When walking
past the construction zones on Jefferson Street and Chieftain
Way it’s hard to imagine that these buildings were homes
to thousands of students since the 50’s.
For some of you this will be nostalgic. Some of you might not
have a clue as to what I’m talking about. Regardless of
where you stand, these dorms are as much a part of FSU as you
are so let’s have a moment of silence for all of the fallen
and soon to be fallen dorms. To help us in this memorial, here
are some testimonies from two former residents of Deviney and
Kellum, respectively.
Jerome Abbott, a Sophomore and Sports Management major, didn’t
have the greatest memories in Deviney. After a splendid summer
in Cawthon, he was very disappointed to find out he would spend
the Fall and Spring in Deviney, a dorm which wasn’t on his
preference list.
“When I came to FSU in the summer, I had no clue about dorms,”
Abbott said. “I have no recollections of horror stories.
Cawthon was a really great dorm. Arguably one of the best on
campus. After I found out I was in Deviney I went to look at
it from the outside and it looked terrible. All you had to do
was walk over there to see that it was.”
Abbott used one word to describe the architecture: old. According
to him it looked like the developers tried too hard to make it
look modern and they missed the mark. He’s right about the
first part. Deviney opened in 1952 and was named after a zoology
professor, Ezda Deviney. It was originally a men’s dorm,
then was repurposed as a women’s dorm before becoming co-ed
in the 70’s.
Abbott described move-in day as a drag and his first shower in
a community bathroom was nothing short of nasty. His list of
complaints touched on everything from the dorm room to the common
area. The room was about a third smaller than his room in Cawthon
and the closet was a makeshift wall of wood with a complimentary
dead roach inside. The common area was cold and mosquito infested.
On the plus side, things went well with his roommate—though
their time together was cut short. They weren’t friends
nor acquaintances. They were just two guys who respected each
other’s space. He was a "pill boy" who would randomly
disappear and reappear and had friends regularly walk in and
out. After getting a DUI in February, his parents took him out
and Abbott had the place to himself for the rest of the year.
Abbott knew about Deviney’s rebuilding when he moved in.
“I just wished that I had been born a year later so that
I didn’t have to live there. I was glad it was getting torn
down. When I moved out I took one look back to get a reference
for what was being destroyed.”
When asked what he will tell his kids when he visits FSU and
sees where his old dorm used to be he’ll say: “Right
there used to be my old dorm my freshmen year. I’m gonna
say it sucked and tell him all the stuff that I told you.”
Despite all of the negatives, there was one thing Deviney had
going for itself—the location was decent.
On the West side of campus lies the soon to be demolished Kellum
and Smith Halls. While the name Kellum elicits shudders from
most, Brianna Milord, a second year Political Science and Editing,
Writing and Media double major, didn’t know what to expect.
She was actually happy to see that it was a community style dorm
after hearing so many good things about the camaraderie it brings
amongst students.
“When I first saw the pictures online I thought ‘oh
this is going to be interesting’,” Milord said in reference
to the bedding arrangements. In Smith and Kellum there are two
beds in each room. One of the beds is built into the wall and
the other is inches from the floor. The reason for this peculiarity
is both Kellum and Smith were financed through federal bonds
which covered the construction costs but not furniture.
After actually moving in, Milord realized that the horror stories
weren’t exaggerations. Tight space, makeshift closets, pipes
on the ceilings and mold were a few of the things that couldn’t
be looked past, but she had to simply deal with. Aside from these
her biggest concern was who she’d be living with. Everyone
has either experienced or heard stories about the roommate from
Hell and that was something she wanted to avoid.
“Your freshmen year is made up of a lot of things and that’s
one of them. Walking into that space and seeing how close it
would be, the worry grew,” Milord recalled.
Ironically, her biggest fear turned out to be a stroke of luck,
as she and her roommate became best friends. She later made two
other close friends after seeing each other frequently in the
laundry room. From that point on the good times rolled with a
few occasional bumps in the road. Milord described to me the
reaction she usually got when she told people where she lived.
It was always a look of fear and concern. This was normal for
all Kellum dwellers and it brought them all together, creating
a bond that no other dorm would understand.
When she heard the news about Kellum’s future she had the
same initial thought as Abbott. But unlike Abbott, she thinks
about the better memories. All of the laughter, laundry talks
and late nights spent playing "Just Dance" are some
of the things that shaped her freshman year for the better. Yeah
she got sick often, courtesy of the "Kellum Cough",
but she wouldn’t change a thing. Move-out day was a sentimental
good bye. It wasn’t as easy as she thought.
In an article written in the Tallahassee
Democrat, it was reported that in 2011, the student newspaper,
FSView, wrote a story about students who claimed to have
gotten sick because of mold in the building. FSU Director of
Housing Dave Sagaser said – and demolition officials confirm
– Kellum did not have mold.
“Not only are we moving out, but it’s going
to be gone,” Milord said. “20 or 30 years in the future
when I walk past where Kellum used to be I’ll tell my kids
‘Hey guys, gather around and look. That’s the building
where your mom had her first year of college and felt every emotion
possible’.”
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