Tania White stood waiting for the elevator on the second floor of Fogelman Hall, the air-conditioning putting a chill in the air as she prepared to move a final cartload of clothes, bags and other belongings into her new room on Tulane University’s Uptown campus.
Forget whatever thoughts of saggy furniture, dim lighting and painted cinderblock come to mind when picturing the inside of a college residence hall. Fogelman, which opened to students this year, features oyster-shell counters in the communal kitchen, cozy study nooks scattered along the hallways and views of the New Orleans skyline from some of the lounges.
“It’s really nice. I told my friends I don’t think I’m going to leave except to eat,” said White. “I’m going to study here, eat here, do everything else here.”
In any other year, White, a sophomore legal studies major, might be relishing her last two semesters of on-campus life before finding an off-campus apartment to split with friends. But Tulane’s new policy requires students to live on campus for three years, meaning she’ll be on campus next year, too. Fogelman, along with another new residence hall nearby, has added enough beds to make the new policy workable. Not that White minds…