Spaces: Andrews 206

Emily Turner ’12, Phoebe Keyes ’12, and Hayley McCann ’12 spent their first year at Sarah Lawrence living together in one of the larger dorm rooms on campus. About 60 percent of first-year students live in triples, though SLC is trying to reduce that number. We caught up with the roommates at the end of the school year to find out what’s it like to share a room with two other people.

• 1. Emily Turner came to SLC from San Antonio, Texas. When she found out she’d be living in a triple, she was nervous—“I’m a solitary person,” she says.
  2. Snack station: The roommates introduced themselves via Facebook over the summer, discussing whether to get a fridge for their room. Favorite study snacks include dry Corn Pops (McCann), salt-and-vinegar chips (Turner), and baked sweet potatoes prepared in the Andrews House kitchen (Keyes).
  3. Hayley McCann enjoys the dinners and movie nights arranged by the house’s resident adviser. “College is hard to get used to,” McCann says. “You’re alone in a way that you can’t grasp in high school.” But living in a triple can help: “Having two roommates means you have an instant posse.”
  4. Phoebe Keyes, who studies writing and literature, concurs: “Especially at the beginning, it was nice to have two people you could talk to.” She brought her collection of Jane Austen books with her from home, plus her favorite novel, Wuthering Heights.
  5. Noisy, wind-up alarm clock: The roommates say that sleeping and studying habits pose the greatest threats to domestic harmony. Keyes and Turner are night owls, while McCann is an early riser. They’re all pretty quiet, though, which helps. “There are definitely times when you want your own space,” says McCann, “But I can just put on headphones and stare at the computer.”
• 6. A very comfortable bed: of all the things in her room, Keyes would take her bed if she were stranded on a desert island. She’s added multiple layers of padding to make it super comfy, and after all, sleep is necessary to survival.
  7. The big “M”: Immediately upon moving in, Turner personalized her part of the room with artwork and posters. Emily often goes by “Em,” which explains the incongruous letter.
  8. Last-minute decorating: The poster of the Ramones, McCann’s favorite band, is a new addition to the room. “I just got this last week.”
  9. Red duck: “I have a thing about ducks,” Keyes says, “So my parents bought me this to take to college.” It’s her favorite thing in the room.
  10. Boot full of drawings: An avid painter, Turner took a free workshop on figure drawing at the Heimbold Visual Arts Center. She keeps her sketches in her rain boots. Turner found that living with two roommates, while not her first choice, was not as bad as she thought. “You have to learn how to work things out, but overall it’s pretty easy.”