2 PITCHES
- First-year Housing Climate: Which dorms are the best
- How has UNE Football grown since its inaugural season
EARLY DRAFT
University of New England First Year Housing: Featherman vs. Everyone
UNE first-years clash over room assignments in Featherman Hall opposed to the quad dorm halls.
February 10, 2025
Anthony Lacaprucia
University of New England Student
As University of New England first-years settle into their freshman dorms, debate emerges over randomized room assignments. Students have strong opinions about the first-year housing climate and who is the best off.
The two main first-year housing options on campus are Featherman Hall and the quad dorms. Each offers a vastly different living experience that can cater to student preferences. However, housing assignments are done on a random basis and some students are stuck in a hall they didn’t list as their first choice.
DEVELOPED DRAFT
University of New England First Year Housing: Featherman vs. Everyone
UNE first-years clash over room assignments in Featherman Hall opposed to the quad dorm halls.
February 10, 2025
Anthony Lacaprucia
University of New England Student
As University of New England first-years settle into their freshman dorms, debate emerges over randomized room assignments. Students have strong opinions about the first-year housing climate and who is the best off.
The two main first-year housing options on campus are Featherman Hall and the quad dorms. Each offers a vastly different living experience that can cater to student preferences. However, housing assignments are done on a random basis and some students are stuck in a hall they didn’t list as their first choice.
Featherman Hall, the newest first-year dorm, offers a unique four floor “track-style” layout with triple rooms. Track-style is designed with twenty-four rooms total, twelve on each side of a lobby, placed around restrooms and shower stalls in the center of each side. Each floor is accompanied by a lounge space with a television, adjacent a study room for students to do their work in. Additionally these common areas feature air conditioning
The first-year quad categorizes four buildings: Assisi, Avila, Siena, and Padua Halls. These halls are a traditional-style layout with double or triple style rooms. Unlike Featherman, showers are located inside the common restrooms on each floor. Additionally, there are lounges located on either the first or second floor with a small kitchen setup.
With these distinct differences, debate over which setup is the best was bound to happen. The seeming majority of students find Featherman Hall to be the best arrangement.
With separate and private shower stalls and air conditioned lounges plus study rooms, many feel the spaces are more comfortable. As for those in favor of the quad, many feel the quad’s traditional style dorms provide a better community atmosphere.
With Featherman’s track-style layout, you can have limited social interaction with your neighbors…
WORKSHOP DRAFT
University of New England First Year Housing: Featherman vs. Everybody
UNE first-years clash over room assignments in Featherman Hall opposed to the quad dorm halls.
February 20, 2025
Anthony Lacaprucia
University of New England Student
As University of New England first-years settle into their freshman dorms, debate emerges over randomized room assignments. Students have strong opinions about the first-year housing climate and who is the best off.
The two main first-year housing options on campus are Featherman Hall and the quad dorms. Each offers a vastly different living experience that can cater to student preferences. However, housing assignments are done on a random basis and some students are stuck in a hall they didn’t list as their first choice.
Featherman Hall, the newest first-year dorm, offers a unique four floor “track-style” layout with triple rooms. Track-style is designed with twelve rooms on each side of a lobby, placed around restrooms and shower stalls in the center of each side. Each floor is accompanied by a lounge space with a television, adjacent to a study room made for students to do their work in. Additionally these common areas feature air conditioning and elevator access.
Ava Houde (she/her), a first-year dental hygiene major living in Featherman, expresses that she feels “very lucky to be in featherman with the AC in the hallways and an elevator to get to the floors.” Houde also adds that the “rooms feel very spacious compared to the other dorms.”
The quad categorizes four buildings: Assisi, Avila, Siena, and Padua Halls. These halls are a traditional-style layout with double or triple style rooms. Unlike Featherman, showers are located inside the common restrooms on each floor. Furthermore, there is only one lounge per building, located on either the first or second floor with a small kitchen setup.
For Dylan Marano (he/him), a first-year marine biology major living in Avila, rooms can be described as “significantly smaller [with] less advanced infrastructure such as tile ceilings and keyhole doors,” when compared to Featherman. With this Marano feels as though the “rooms make it uncomfortable to have multiple people in at a time.”
With the two dorm styles having distinct differences, debate over which setup is the best option was bound to happen. The issue is subjective though, Damien Jones (he/him), a sophomore residential advisor in Siena, feels the quad comes with some pros. He argues that although the quad buildings are smaller, they create a more “close knit floor community”.
Jones isn’t alone in this sentiment. Lizzie Brytowski (she/her), a first-year communications and media arts major living in Assisi, comments that “The quad feels easier to make new friends in at the beginning of the school year. As a freshman coming in and barely knowing anyone you get to know the people on your floor a lot easier than you would in the bigger buildings like Featherman.”
Despite this, many still feel that these positives are largely outweighed by the negatives. Quinn Carlson (he/him), a first-year business major, started off living in the quad and later moved into Featherman Hall. When asked about his experience in both types of dorms, Carlson stated “Living in Featherman has been so much more comfortable and the shower quality just makes it so much better.”
In addition to Carlson, Adam Day (he/him), a first-year nursing major in Featherman, discusses more of the benefits. He adds that he “[thinks] generally it’s just a lot cleaner. We also have better study areas, more lounges, and better kitchens. I just think it’s all better, and it’s not like I like paid extra for it.”
Day later goes into some of the social aspects of being one of the “lucky ones”. He says “I kind of feel bad for some of the people in the quad, but it’s also not my fault. It sometimes feels like everybody’s against us with the aspect where we have something better than them.”
With the two vastly different housing options it is hard to compare them concretely. It is unlikely that the UNE campus will ever come to a unanimous decision on the first-year housing matter.
REVISED/FINAL DRAFT
University of New England First Year Housing: Battle of the Dorms
UNE first-year students clash over room assignments in Featherman Hall as opposed to the quad dorm halls.
March 3, 2025
Anthony Lacaprucia
University of New England Student
As University of New England first-years settle into their freshman dorms, debate emerges over room assignments. Students have strong opinions about the first-year housing climate and who is the best off.
The two main first-year housing options on campus are Featherman Hall and the quad dorms. Each offers a vastly different living experience that can cater to student preferences. However, with housing assignments not being perfect some students are stuck in a hall they didn’t list as their first choice.
Ava Houde (she/her), a first-year Dental Hygiene major living in Featherman, says that she feels “very lucky to be in Featherman with the AC in the hallways and an elevator to get to the floors.” Houde also expresses that the “rooms feel very spacious compared to the other dorms.”
Featherman Hall, the newest first-year dorm built in 2007, offers a unique four floor “track-style” layout with triple rooms. Track-style is designed with twelve rooms on each side of a lobby, placed around restrooms and shower stalls in the center of each side. Each floor is accompanied by a lounge space with a television, adjacent to a study room made for students to do their work in.
For Dylan Marano (he/him), a first-year Marine Biology major living in Avila, rooms can be described as “significantly smaller [with] less advanced infrastructure such as tile ceilings and keyhole doors,” when compared to Featherman. With this Marano feels as though the “rooms make it uncomfortable to have multiple people in at a time.”
The quad categorizes four buildings: Assisi, Avila, Siena, and Padua Halls. These halls are a traditional-style layout with double or triple style rooms. Unlike Featherman, showers are located inside the common restrooms on each floor. Furthermore, there is only one lounge per building, located on either the first or second floor with a small kitchen setup.
With the two dorm styles having distinct differences, debate over which setup is the best option was bound to happen. The issue is subjective though, Damien Jones (he/him), a sophomore residential advisor in Siena, feels the quad comes with some pros. He argues that although the quad buildings are smaller, they create a more “close knit floor community”.
Jones isn’t alone in this sentiment. Lizzie Brytowski (she/her), a first-year Communications and Media Arts major living in Assisi, comments that “The quad feels easier to make new friends in at the beginning of the school year. As a freshman coming in and barely knowing anyone you get to know the people on your floor a lot easier than you would in the bigger buildings like Featherman.”
Despite this, many still feel that these positives are largely outweighed by the negatives. Quinn Carlson (he/him), a first-year Business major, started off living in the quad and later moved into Featherman Hall. When asked about his experience in both types of dorms, Carlson stated “Living in Featherman has been so much more comfortable and the shower quality just makes it so much better.”
In addition to Carlson, Adam Day (he/him), a first-year Nursing major in Featherman, discusses more of the benefits. He adds that he “[thinks] generally it’s just a lot cleaner. We also have better study areas, more lounges, and better kitchens. I just think it’s all better, and it’s not like I paid extra for it.”
Day later goes into some of the social aspects of being one of the “lucky ones”. He says “I kind of feel bad for some of the people in the quad, but it’s also not my fault. It sometimes feels like everybody’s against us with the aspect where we have something better than them.”
Marano feel’s he has to face criticism for being in Avilla as well. When having friends from Featherman over he states that they “are noticeably uncomfortable with the small room size, looking around at the walls and available space, and tend to not want to stay long due to said lack of space.”
Hanna Coughlin (she/her), a first-year Dental Hygiene major, touches on this as well, “When people ask me what dorm I’m in I’m always afraid to say Featherman. They usually get mad as if it’s my fault they got stuck in a worse dorm.”
Given the differences between the two housing options, it’s difficult to make a direct comparison. It’s unlikely that the UNE campus will ever reach a unanimous decision regarding first-year housing.
WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE REFLECTION
I found the workshop experience to be extremely helpful. My classmates’ comments and critiques were really useful when revising for my final draft. In class we were able to point out areas that could be improved with rewording and different elements needed to complete my story. I think after leaving our workshop class I knew exactly what I needed to do to finalize my project. Initially I thought getting my writing critiqued by the class would kind of suck but I actually enjoyed it and found it super useful. I was able to shift around paragraphs to make my quotes lead the article after we talked about it in my workshop. I think it really helped keep the writing engaging and was a good decision. Had I not had my peers review my work I would never have thought to do that.
PROJECT AS A WHOLE REFLECTION
Overall, I really enjoyed the Feature Creature project. This was my first time really writing with a journalistic style and it went a lot better than I was expecting. I was a little slow to start with the project but once we started to get hard deadlines for drafts and our workshop slot I was motivated to get things going more quickly. What initially held me up was finding my angle with my pitch being the first-year housing climate. I also was hesitant to get started on my interviews and without my quotes I didn’t want to get writing too quickly. After I conducted my interviews and got my quotes going everything fell into place pretty smoothly. I enjoyed writing about my topic and trying to cover all the different perspectives that came along with it. I think as we started doing the first few workshops I was also able to take the critiques of other people’s writing and apply it to my own. This really helped as I developed my own draft for my workshop. I think the workshopping process is what pushed my story to the next level. Our class was able to help me with my writing style and offer constructive criticism on things I could change. With all this being said I think my feature was a successful one. I didn’t expect to enjoy the process, but I ended up finding it to be pretty fun.
