Readers’ pick: Amsterdam Hall
During your fleeting undergraduate years, it’s vital to check off all the bucket list items: get involved on campus, find your favorite study spot and throw the party of the century. As a self-proclaimed dorm-party aficionado, Shenkman Hall is the spot to turn that final dream into a reality.
While a residence hall room may lack the charm of an I Street townhouse or the scale of a roomy apartment, a Shenkman quad stands out as a prime Friday night spot thanks to its space and layout. With a couch-filled common area, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and wide windows, it captures the social energy of Thurston Hall while offering a more comfortable upperclassman feel.
When I lived in Shenkman last semester, my suitemates and I hosted soirees that became some of my most lively, and already nostalgic, college nights, especially after we made the space our own with jigsaw puzzles on the walls and lace curtains softening the room. By the time we threw our September housewarming, it took little more than a Partiful link, a quick sweep of valuables and friends just down the hall to turn our quad into a full, easygoing crowd.
While the living room allowed for our friends to mingle and listen to our expertly curated playlist of house music and Kesha, the separate bedrooms allowed others to take a break from clusters of crowds and seek respite in solitude. Plus, every good party needs a designated spot for romantic sparks to fly, private conversations to ensue and coats to be tossed.
For all my South and Amsterdam Hall residents, I know what you’re thinking. Sure, your halls have large common areas too, but South bedrooms automatically lock, keeping those spaces off-limits to guests — a worry Shenkman residents don’t have. And Amsterdam is far from the beating heart of campus as I’ve discovered from how few parties I’ve been invited to there compared with Shenkman.
I’m no stranger to hosting dorm parties, which makes me uniquely suited to crown Shenkman the winner. When my roommate and I lived in Francis Scott Key Hall during our sophomore year, our dorm room soirees required us to bunk our beds — with the help of neighbors we had never met before — and narrowly stuff our desks and chairs into our closet. While the smaller double room was suited for conducting intimate gatherings, hosting larger parties required a bit more effort, bumping FSK out of contenders.
As last semester came to a close, we again hosted a Shenkman dorm party — this time in honor of my roommate’s birthday and my suitemates and I leaving to study abroad. Decorated with tinsel, fairy lights and balloons abound, the open architecture gave us ample space to curate a festive environment.
Friends filtered in and out of our abode throughout the evening, with some using it as a pit stop on their way to Adams Morgan bars and others staying until the later hours. If my roommates and I were hosting our party somewhere like 1959 E Street, located further from many of the other upperclassmen dorms, they may have deemed us too out-of-the-way to make an appearance. Thankfully, Shenkman’s central location kept our door in constant rotation.
At a school where club culture is king, the intimacy and community of a house party can be lost. A 30-person party of friends and acquaintances, where you don’t need to pay a $25 cover or call an Uber, is a welcome breath of fresh air. My first-year self, in my cramped Thurston double, longed for a private space to curate that camaraderie and connection. I’m happy to say I successfully fulfilled that wish in my Shenkman dwelling.
