Decisions for dorm stacks, a housing option available to rising Uppers and Seniors to live in a dorm with a self-selected group of people, were released on the evening of April 29. After hearing the news of stacking as a housing option available for next year, students shared their motives behind joining the stack of their choice and choosing specific dorms.
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Kevin Flores Blackmore ’23: Andover Cottage
To me, in my Senior year, I think it was very important to me to spend time with my friends and the people I’m close to. I prefected this year so I lost that social aspect. And I miss living with my friends and I knew I wanted that to be my priority. [In a stack] we’re going to be spending time with each other and we’re going to have a good time and we’re gonna love living with each other. That’s what matters. What matters is, I don’t mean to be corny, but if you’re happy in your Senior year, that’s all that matters, because its your last year here. I think that if you’re going to be here your Senior year, you have to put your mental health and your happiness above everything. And that’s why I decided to stack.
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Theo Kim ’23: Andover Cottage
I’m really happy that we’re stacking and that we got it. [I wanted to stack] because the dorm life of just living with your friends is something you can’t replicate anywhere else. You can’t replicate living with your friends. And especially with a stack, it’s your place. You know, it’s your home. When you live in a big dorm, you have your friends, but once you step out of your room, it’s not your place anymore. And in a stack, the thing that makes it feel amazing is like it’s a home. You step out and every room feels like home. You walk around and every room, every hallway, every space belongs to you guys. So that’s what I’m most excited for living next year, because I’ve only lived in big dorms.
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Cris Ramnath ’23: Flagg House
I personally didn’t have that big of a preference for dorms, as I don’t think I spend much time in my dorm, so I was cool with anything as long as I had a few friends. I think a lot of people would say the walk [to Flagg] makes it not worth it, but I personally wouldn’t like to live so close to campus, so the walk made it better for me (plus it’s closer to downtown which I love going there whenever possible). I am looking forward to stacking as it’ll be a big difference from the big dorm environment of Stuart (that I lived in Lower year) and the [Junior/Lower] America House (that I lived in freshman year).
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Sammie Shim ’23: Smith House
I really wanted to live in a small dorm for my Senior year because I’ve lived in pretty big dorms at Andover so far (Hale, Johnson, Paul, and Chase). I feel like smaller dorms allow you to create more of a home rather than a community. Also, the group I’m stacking with has a few people who I haven’t yet gotten to know really well but who I do really want to become good friends with, so I’m looking forward to building new friendships… The process itself was relatively stressful because there really was no application–we just put all of our names down and hoped for the best. I think I can speak for everyone in the stack when I say we were really, really excited when we got the email. Like incredibly excited.
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Marie Faugeres ’23: Smith House
Personally, I decided to stack because I wanted to live with a lot of my friends during Senior year all at once, and the idea of being in a relatively small dorm in which you enjoy everyone’s presence is very appealing and something that I think would help relieve the stress of Senior fall and winter. But, to be honest, I had only ever lived in the huge Knoll dorms and wanted a change of scenery and to have a different housing experience from the past two years. Although leaving Pine Knoll for Flagstaff will take a hit on my “cluster pride”, I am looking forward to living in as great a dorm as Smith and living with my closest friends.
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Mason McCormack ’23: Andover Cottage
I think the pro of stacking is you get to have more fun with all your friends in the same dorm, while a con is you don’t get the chance to meet new people in a dorm setting. I wanted to stack because I knew that being in the same dorm as my friends would lead to a better environment for me to grow as a person and feel supported…the reason I did not stack last year is because I thought that it made more sense to get to know new people and I didn’t want to be extremely cliquey, always spending time with the same few people. The stacking itself, however, has been horrible. It has forced me to leave behind friends and caused new rifts between them.
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George Stoody ’24: Stowe House
I wanted to stack to grow closer in a dorm setting with my best friends, and think a small house setting is the best place to do that. I also love the homier feel of a smaller dorm, and the bonds you make there are the ones that truly last. I also get to take on a leadership role next year as the proctor of my stack, and this is a pro as I get to help lead and offer advice to my friends as both a school backed leader and as a friend.
