Dorms at McElroy at Minnesota State University Mankato (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartments, houses)

[Kevin125]

I have questions about McElroy I figure out today I got a dorm there. My question is community bathrooms/showers. Does these showers have curtains or something that covers it. Im just wonder and Im guessing community bathroom is just like a normal public bathroom

Thanks for the help

[gweilo845]

I haven't been in that dorm, but I stayed in a few different ones in college. The bathrooms were stalls with curtains.

And yes, the "community bathroom" is like your normal public bathroom. Except probably dirtier and stinkier.

One word of advice: buy flip-flops and always wear them in the bathroom, even when you are taking a shower.

[xandrex]

You might have more luck posting this in the Minnesota forum rather than the Minneapolis-St. Paul forum.

That said, I have yet to see a college that has gang showers (the non-curtained kind) and I've attended two separate universities (as well as visiting many others to see family, summer camps, etc.)

I'll also add that gweilo is correct...always wear flip flops unless athlete's foot is your idea of fun.

[Sonata36]

Gang shower AND co-ed.

Kidding of course, but I do have a friend who lived in a dorm with co-ed bathrooms/showers with curtains, although the curtains were stolen...a lot.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by xandrex

That said, I have yet to see a college that has gang showers (the non-curtained kind) and I've attended two separate universities (as well as visiting many others to see family, summer camps, etc.)

That's the way McElroy used to be in the 80's, and I suspect Crawford was as well. One big shower room per floor.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

That's the way McElroy used to be in the 80's, and I suspect Crawford was as well. One big shower room per floor.

I know a lot of places used to be like that, but I believe nearly every school has since changed to private showers. I could be wrong, though. Most of my extended family and many attended MSU (including one of my aunts and my dad for part of his time in college), but as they lived so close, they never had to be in the dorms.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by xandrex

I know a lot of places used to be like that, but I believe nearly every school has since changed to private showers. I could be wrong, though. Most of my extended family and many attended MSU (including one of my aunts and my dad for part of his time in college), but as they lived so close, they never had to be in the dorms.

When I went to MSU, and I'm sure it's still true, there were far fewer dorms than students, and they had to hold a lottery every year for those interested in staying in the dorms. It was a lot more convenient for those of us who had to be in the computer center in the wee hours of the morning at the end of every quarter.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

When I went to MSU, and I'm sure it's still true, there were far fewer dorms than students, and they had to hold a lottery every year for those interested in staying in the dorms. It was a lot more convenient for those of us who had to be in the computer center in the wee hours of the morning at the end of every quarter.

I don't know much about college back when you older folks (*nudge nudge*) were attending, but all the schools I've attended and visited (with the exception of quirky St. Olaf that my cousin attended) secure students freshman year housing before pretty much giving them the boot due to space. You of course can stay, but why would you? It's quite expensive - oftentimes more than living off campus.

It also helps that computer clusters are less necessary as nearly everyone has a laptop.

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

When I went to MSU, and I'm sure it's still true, there were far fewer dorms than students, and they had to hold a lottery every year for those interested in staying in the dorms. It was a lot more convenient for those of us who had to be in the computer center in the wee hours of the morning at the end of every quarter.

Mankato State built some new dorms a few years ago, so they have more on-campus space for the students.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by xandrex

I don't know much about college back when you older folks (*nudge nudge*) were attending, but all the schools I've attended and visited (with the exception of quirky St. Olaf that my cousin attended) secure students freshman year housing before pretty much giving them the boot due to space. You of course can stay, but why would you? It's quite expensive - oftentimes more than living off campus.

It also helps that computer clusters are less necessary as nearly every one has a laptop.

Yup, they did the same thing back then. Freshman were given priority. The dorm lottery was for everyone else.

Why live on campus? Well, the campus is on the hilltop, and walking up Stadium Road or east-to-west from nearby apartments on the hill ... into the wind ... can be a rather chilly affair. Also, I think a lot of us simply found it to be more convenient. If I wanted to go off and party (which wasn't that often), I had friends in houses and/or apartments who helped in that regard, and we had the green room under the central McElroy/Crawford cafeteria we could use for gaming (mainly AD&D 1st edition back in the day).

You're right, tho, that the computing environment is very different these days than it was in the early 80's. The Wissink building didn't exist, so we had to go to the 2nd floor of Morris Hall to get to a terminal.