Fisher Hassenfeld, Riepe, and Ware. The three first-year residences that compose the Quad are popularly hailed as the hub of first-year activity and the ultimate social spot. For many incoming first years, the Quad triad takes up the first three housing picks in the ranked-choice system. But those who get dealt an “unlucky” hand when they open their housing assignments are arguably better off for it.
Opened in 1895 and modeled after Oxford and Cambridge dormitories, the Quad is one of the quintessential Penn experience spots. The perceived superiority of the Quad revolves around a few core benefits: the party scene, the social environment, and the central location on campus. Let’s break these down.
Contrary to popular belief, the party scene can be one of the greatest downsides for first years. Penn’s “work hard, play hard” mentality can be rewarding, but being unable to escape it even in the comfort of your own hallway can be challenging. In the Quad, that “work hard, play hard” balance gets tipped dangerously toward “play harder!” with no escape from party culture. Having a loud party of 40 people crammed into your neighbor’s tiny room in the Quad can, unsurprisingly, not be a constant benefit.
With the Quad housing so many first years and several common areas for students to mingle, all signs point to a very social, collaborative environment. College first year Robbie Becker, a Quad resident, affirms the social hub reputation of the Quad due to the sheer amount of residents. Still, he feels that there is “less strong community as what [he has] seen in other houses due to there being so many people.” This confirms the belief that, despite the Quad’s large population, it lacks the communities that smaller houses provide. The experience is vastly different in residences like Kings Court English College House and Hill House, where the student residential experience revolves around tightly-knit, built-in communities.
The Quad’s location is the most objective of its benefits. Placed along Spruce Street and nearby key academic buildings, the Quad sits in a central location with easy access to classes. While this is a notable upside, the Quad also faces the challenge of access to dining halls. Its only in-house dining option is the Cafe at McClelland, while college houses such as Kings Court English College House, Hill, and Lauder all house their own buffet-style dining hall. To get to a place where your meal swipes give you endless possibilities is much more difficult when you don’t have one downstairs in your own residence (shoutout Kings Court English College House, Hill, and Lauder). Other college houses deserve more spotlight.
The first-year housing options other than the Quad boast varying benefits: Kings Court English College House offers sinks and bay windows that pour light into some of the largest first-year rooms on campus. Hill is home to dorms separated by colors as saturated as the character of the residents that populate them. Stouffer, Lauder, and W.E.B. DuBois all offer their own suite-style rooms and individual perks. Although the benefits of Quad are undeniable, they simply do not measure up to the life of a Kings Court English College House, Hill, Lauder, Stouffer, or DuBois resident. Regardless of the claims from every resident that their residence is the best one, there is no one best first-year dorm at Penn; each offers its own unique set of benefits, the values of which are dependent on the student living there. The claim that the Quad is the best freshman dorm is a falsehood — just as every house is different, so is every resident.
The Quad superiority complex extends beyond just conversational relevance; creating a perception of one social hub for all first years limits the extent to which residents can develop their own lifestyle and social life. The sociability of residence halls depends highly on the preferences of the resident. One person’s Quad might be another person’s Hill, with some folks preferring the large social environment, while others thrive in the friendly communities nestled in primary color hallways. Hailing one singular dorm as “the freshman spot” sets a precedent that certain residences, and by extension, residents, are more sociable or fortunate than others. Instead of leading residents to feel like they were dealt a worse hand for their first year at Penn, we should all affirm that your hand is worth what you make of it.
EMMA HWANG is a College first year studying political science from Philadelphia. Her email is emhwang@sas.upenn.edu.
