Residence hall life at WSU offers a community experience that is exceptional, but it will be stale if residents don’t get involved in their community.

Residence life at WSU has its perks. They are convenient, since both your classes and food are nearby, they come in a wide array of prices and settings and they are safe to live in.

However, these features, while amiable, would be nothing if someone weren’t to get involved with their community. Life in dorms without a community is boring to say the least, as watching Netflix and vegetating on your bed are very comforting on occasion, yet mind-numbing on repeat.

That is why it is important to get involved in your residence hall.

“It is easy to take a step back and just stay in the rooms,” Marqueze Kennedy, Stimpson Hall residential educational adviser, said. “I saw that happening often at Stimson earlier in the year. I think that by putting yourself out there and being willing to attend an event, even if it’s not something you’re particularly into, you might find a community.”

Where residence halls shine isn’t in their convenience or safety, it is in the people you meet and the experiences that you get.

“One of the most overlooked parts of dorm life is the built-in community that you get,” Kennedy said. “At WSU we have a whole residence life department that tries to figure out different ways to build community.”

Residence life can only grow if people get involved. Without residents going to the events that halls put on, the social life that makes residence halls worthwhile would fall apart. By getting involved in your residence hall you can join social circles that make your life more enjoyable help others make their life more fun.

Residence life is very similar to college: you get what you put in. If you play video games all day and never study, you will get bad grades and not get much out of college, let alone learn anything. But if you try hard, study and pay attention, you will leave more educated and better equipped for the working world.

Residence hall life is the same. If you stay and hide in your room, you will get very bored. You won’t get a community that makes your stay in college any easier.

Of course, there is always the chance that no matter how hard one tries to socialize with people in their hall, the experience just isn’t the right choice for them.

There is nothing wrong with that. Some halls just aren’t the right fit. Maybe they just needed a different hall or would be better suited to greek life or off campus living.

In either case, make sure to go to new living situations with an open mind and be willing to socialize with that group just as hard as you socialized in residence halls.

Every living situation on WSU has something to offer, and the community found there is the most important part of that living situation.