Living in dormitories has its own advantages and disadvantages. Basically, it depends on the perspective of the students how they want to spend their lives. There are some students who prefer the warmth of their homes rather than the dormitories, where they have to live with strangers.
Such students want to share their happiness and sorrows with their parents. On the other hand, there are students who want to explore the world and want to become independent and confident. Such students prefer dormitory life as it gives them ample opportunity to interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
Dormitory life is all about adapting to a new lifestyle where people with different habits and intellectuality levels live together. There are times when this particular environment might pose problems for students like privacy, different mindsets, incongruity, etc.
Problems may creep in as minor issues such as cleaning, loud music, smoking, etc. Initially, these issues might seem to be critical but if the roommates tackle them wisely, dormitory life has no comparison.
There are certain things that the dormitory residents have to do as part of their duties. Cleaning the rooms is one such duty that can be managed well if the roommates make a schedule by mutual consent. They can clean their rooms turn wise. Other dormitory duties may also be scheduled to avoid confusion and conflict.
This will not pinch any of the residents. Another problem is faced mainly during the examination times and that is listening to loud music.
We all are civilized human beings and students should understand the complexity of the situation because if one of the roommates listens to loud music, the others will not be able to concentrate on their studies. It’s good that ADU dormitories have a ban on smoking and consumption of alcohol within the premises (Student Housing Policy, 2012, p. 3) otherwise this could create a greater nuisance.
ADU dormitories have strict rules pertaining to discipline within the premises. The male inmates are required to be in the hostel before 12 am and the time limit for female inmates is 10 pm. Visitors are allowed inside the dormitories only from 8 am until 9 pm. Only male visitors may enter male dormitories and only female visitors may enter female dormitories (Student Housing Policy, 2012, p. 2).
Apart from the ban on smoking and alcohol, if any student is found indulging in any sort of illegal activity that is against the UAE law, strict action is taken against the offender and in certain extreme offences, the case is referred to the local police.
The offenders are barred from entering the hostel premises forever (Student Housing Policy, 2012, p. 2). Due to such strict rules and regulations, the dormitory life is very peaceful and safe. Students are able to devote time towards their studies without any apprehensions.
One thing that seems to be pinching is the stipulation that students are responsible for any damage to the furniture. With the passage of time, like other assets, furniture also gets damaged. So how can the university hold the students responsible and make them pay for the damages?
Overall, the ADU dormitory environment is conducive to studies. The inmates even have the option to study in the sprawling lawns amidst fresh air. But as has been wisely said, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, the students should engage themselves in some recreational activities as well.
Another good thing that the university can do is to provide partitions within the rooms so that the studying students are not distracted by actions of other inmates.
The university should ensure that the roommates are from the same class so that during examinations, there is no disturbance. Such a system would also enable roommates to share educational problems and get solutions to queries. This way, the academic performance might be enhanced.
Reference
Student Housing Policy. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.adu.ac.ae/en/