Everyone has a bad first-year dorm experience, with many different factors as a possible cause. I live at REV; for me, it was the building itself…Ron Eydt Village – oh, how much I love that place.
When I first received the email saying that I got REV as my dorm, I knew I was going to have a terrible experience. Every person that studied or is studying at UW had only bad things to say about that building. I saw pictures online, and it wasn’t too bad. I saw a few virtual tours on YouTube, and the building seemed okay — but then again, the video was posted on UW’s channel. As move-in day got closer, I tried to find the positive sides — many students didn’t get into campus housing, so they had to commute daily! I got lucky enough to get into campus housing, so I shouldn’t be complaining. But the second I walked into REV, I did a lot of complaining. It was scorching hot with no air conditioning, while we had to carry all our belongings up the narrow stairs as there was no elevator in the building. The room was so tiny that my roommate and I had to keep our mini fridges inside our closets. On move-in day, both our families kept bumping into each other and barely had space to walk through. The list of complaints kept growing daily with filthy showers, dirty sinks and dusty beds.
Let’s talk about my first week at REV. Sneezing, crying, sneezing, that’s about it. Why do I hear so much about improvements at CMH or buildings that already look pretty when there’s no talk of improving the ugliest residence building at the university? They added a Booster Juice at CMH. Would it do any harm to add something new to REV?
They made us rank our dorm choices when applying for campus housing, and REV was at the bottom of my list. What was the point in ranking my choices if, in the end, I got assigned to my LAST choice? I mentioned that I was a vegetarian, and they put me in a place that barely had vegetarian options. My class is a 25-minute walk from my building, all the good food places are on the other side of campus, and they all close by 6 p.m. I’ve made many friends who stay at REV, and they’re miserable — they also chose REV as their last option. The second we have an opportunity to return home, we take it. I would only stay here over the weekend if I had no other choice. The water pressure in our showers is so low that by the end, I don’t feel like I’ve showered. At one point, I was very close to leaving REV behind to commute from Mississauga. I keep thinking about this, but unfortunately, it’s not really an option.
I promise you I haven’t exaggerated a single thing I mentioned about REV. I have made many attempts to leave the residence, but it’s been impossible. The University of Waterloo should really make improvements to that building — I don’t think they understand what students are struggling with.
