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Campus Living Series: Suite life of Donohue residents

Donohue Hall accommodates eight, six, and four person arrangements in close proximity to Fox Dining Commons. (Courtesy of Flickr)

Andre Ragel
Connector Staff

There are many residence halls that students can select from around campus, and surely there is one for just about everyone. One of these buildings named Donahue Hall continues to be a popular choice for many students who want more than just a traditional dorm room.

Each suite in Donahue Hall comes with a standard set of furniture that includes a bed, mattress, chair, wardrobe and dresser, as well as a large common area that includes a sink, two bathrooms and showers. On the first floor, there is a spacious student lounge where students can play pool, grab snacks at the vending machines or sit in groups to study or watch TV.

Students living in Donahue Hall rave about its central location in East Campus. Donahue sits directly in front of Fox Hall which houses University Dining Commons and Fox Common, a popular late-night hangout spot where students can grab freshly baked Sal’s Pizza and basic necessities at the POD.

Donahue Hall houses close to 350 co-ed students, primarily those who belong in the Living Learning Communities (LLC) of .ICS (Innovation in Computer Science), Business Innovation and iTeach, as well as a handful of Division 1 athletes. Many students like freshman Pooja Patel enjoy living in these LLCs because she is able to talk to other students in the same major as her, as well as meet others who she shares the same interests with.

Patel felt challenged making friends with people around her LLC in her first weeks living at Donahue Hall. During the first week of school, Patel and her suitemates left their front door open inviting people to come in, but nobody stopped by and she felt that it was “a waste of time.” However, she did not let this challenge stop her and instead went around the LLC and introduced herself and her suitemates to other residents. She is proud of doing this, adding that it helped her build relationships with others especially that there are not a lot of girls taking computer science in the LLC.

“I’ve never taken [computer science] in high school, so it’s nice to be able to ask others questions especially when we do homework,” said Patel.

Cassandra Harkins, a computer science freshman living in the .ICS LLC, shared similar thoughts with Patel but remarked how nice everyone on her floor is.

The price of living in Donahue Hall is about average at $9,833 per year, similar to what a student would pay living at a suite in Sheehy Hall, but not as expensive as living in University Suites.

Donahue Hall is a very accessible residence hall as the main bus stop for East Campus is located infront, making connections to University Crossing and South Campus a breeze. Students who have purchased parking permits may park in several lots around East Campus including the East Campus garage, Fox lot and Perkins Street lot.

Although relatively minor, a few concerns were shared by some students like business majors Nitai Kortua and Andrew Feng.

“Furnitures here are not comfy; the couch that came with the suite feels like rocks,” said Feng.
“I know that it’s college and that’s I can’t expect a lot, but like it’s not comfortable to sit or sleep on at all,” said Kortua.

Feng and Patel said they agreed that the dryers in the laundry room at Donahue should be replaced. Feng recalled one time when he did laundry that he had to run his clothes through the dryer three times, and they were still barely dry.

Computer science student Taren Chen wishes to have water bubblers be installed on every floor.
All students that were interviewed agreed that besides these minor inconveniences, they would each recommend living in Donahue Hall to their friends.

If living the “suite life” near the center of the hustle and bustle of East Campus sounds interesting, then Donahue Hall may just be the right place for you.

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