Whether they come from a different country or live in the same city as their post-secondary institution, many students choose to live in residence.
According to Utile Statistics, eight per cent of college students reside in residential buildings due to the costs and other expenses like food and utilities.
The Begin Tower, one of the SAIT residences, is also home to students from Alberta University of the Arts and Bow Valley College.
Students who reside within Begin Tower have mixed opinions about their dorm lives.
“It’s easy to meet people, lots of fun, relatively cheap and easy to get to classes,” said second-year legal student Mackenzie Blais. She describes dorm life as community-driven.
Celena Reinhard, a business administration student, also enjoys residence life.
“You meet everyone, you get to know everyone on each level and yeah and make lots of friends,” said Reinhard.
However, Reinhard mentions how sometimes utilities are not operating correctly but can be fixed quickly by giving a call to maintenance.
“They are good. I mean they are functional and they work most of the time,” Reinhard said. “But our drains do get clogged once a while, then we just call maintenance and they come and fix it.”
Beign Tower has many accommodations for its residents including yoga and art studios as well as cardio rooms.
The Begin Tower dining centre also offers all-day meal plans for its residents, students, guests, and staff members.
While some enjoy dorm life, other students say there is room for improvement.
First-year AUArts student Austin Newcombe says that the food in Begin Tower is not cheap and there are a few things regarding utilities in the dorms that should be changed or maintained better.
“The sinks don’t drain all the way and the toilets don’t flush for some reason,” Newcombe said. “The beds are also way too high off the ground.”
Newcombe says that he will explore other residential buildings at SAIT.
“Next year, I’m going to go to East Hall and see if it has better living conditions,” said Newcombe.
Aubrey Hodder, a culinary arts student at SAIT, pointed out how some things in the dorm rooms can not be controlled.
“You don’t get a lot of control over a lot of things like temperature and you can’t open your window right now in winter,” said Hodder.
Although meal plans are provided by the Begin Tower, Paulo Gallera, a power engineering technology student, saves money by making his meals.
“Learn how to cook your food so you can save a lot of money,” said Gallera.
Blais agrees that the most affordable food for students living in residence ranges from groceries to fast food.
“I would say buying your own groceries is the most affordable, but secondly, probably Tim Hortons, fast food and that sort of thing,” said Blais.
The present students who are attending college and living in Begin Tower also shared some advice for newcomers considering moving into the dorms.
“Try to make as many friends as possible,” Blais said. “Get out there and do the activities that the dorm staff puts out for you.”
Automotive service technology student Nathaniel Bisschop provides another suggestion for new students living in residence.
“Get to know your roommate pretty good,” he said. “If not, it’s pretty awkward. Living in someone else’s house is weird.”
