With great dorm living comes great responsibility and that is precisely what Seward County Community College students have to accommodate to. By accepting those conditions, they also accept the bonuses. The amenities to living in the dorms, provides 19 meals a week, all utilities, a game room, study room, snack machines, outdoor volleyball and basketball court, and monthly housing events. Kate Mulligan, SCCC/ATS Director of the Student Living Center, advises dorm students to make good decisions, but to also enjoy their time here. “Be smart, but have fun,” Mulligan said. Dorm students are given the chance to provide a preference of who they want to share a dorm with and in what building. But otherwise, students are paired up based off of their housing contracts when they first apply. Four questions are asked to get an overall idea of what the students personalities are like. Mulligan does what she can to cater the student’s likes and dislikes. According to Mulligan, it is best to let the students find their own roommates and if they both agree, they are paired into a dorm. If worst case scenario, conflict should arise, Mulligan gives both parties the chance to settle it within themselves, but if ultimately, both roommates can not settle differences, procedures to solve the problem take place. “For the most part, we work around it all and have always managed to make all parties happy,” Mulligan said. Getting to know your roommate for the first time can be a bit nerve wrecking but in the first couple of weeks of moving in, students should set their boundaries and state what time they each would like to go to bed, how loud they like their music, or even what time their own personal friends are allowed in the dorm. The littlest of things in the beginning can be crucial to leading a successful living experience with your roommate. “The biggest thing is being responsible and holding yourself accountable,” Mulligan said. The majority of dorm students come to the realization that they are now responsible for themselves. Their parents are no longer by their side to do their paperwork or to tell them to go to class, they are on their own. And that being said, it’s an experience everyone comes to at one point or another. One of the biggest complaints that Mulligan receives are the regulations to curfew or visitation hours. From Sunday to Thursday, men and women are separated to thier own places after midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays the hours are extended until two in the morning. After midnight all doors will close and only the dorm students with their key have access back in. Those keys will only open to the building that their dorm is located in. For example, if you are staying in the SLC, your key has no access to the Mansions after midnight. “If you want to come back to your dorm at three in the morning, go for it,” Mulligan said. Students enjoy the community they get out of the dorms, and right now they are all in the beginning stages of building that. Though at the end of the year, that goal would have been accomplished. “It seems pretty cliché, but it was just one big family,” Mulligan said. The dorms being close to the academic buildings are a plus, because students don’t have to drive around as much. “We’re really emphasing the community feeling this year. We’re going to try and do more dorm activities. Focusing on putting events that the students enjoy doing and not just for putting them on just because,” Mulligan said. A new addition that will be taking place for the dorm students is a new gas grill out back for students who do not want to eat in the cafeteria. They now have the option to buy their own food and go outside to grill, all they will have to do is check out the key from Mulligan. It’s a physical change that the Student Living Center is bringing for SCCC, and Mulligan is excited to see the results. “The grill is already bought, and now we are just waiting for it to be put in. We are just trying to cater to students needs and getting them more involved in housing and home because this is that. Their home,” said Mulligan.