Quincy Swing Housing

Everywhere you look around Harvard, signs of construction greet you. It's time to say "out with the old, and in with the new," as Quincy House renovates Old Quincy and moves some of its students to Dewolfe and apartment buildings. FM decided to check out swing housing in Hampden Hall and see how the apartments compare to normal dorms.

THE SETUP

Similar to most dorm room, the apartments have "n" housing with a common room, bedrooms, and bathroom. The only difference is the rooms are clean. Very clean. Well at least before students started living in them.

THE FURNISHINGS

Don't worry about buying a new couch because every apartment comes furnished with a navy blue, polka-dotted loveseat. Rooms also include typical furniture like desks, beds, and wardrobes. All apartments have wood flooring—very shiny wood at that.

THE KITCHEN

Can't wake up for breakfast? No problem. Formerly, Dewolfe was one of the few living options that offered a kitchen. However, now the apartments provided by Quincy give residents the chance to concoct their own late night snacks. Each kitchenette comes equipped with a stove, oven, and refrigerator.

THE HALLWAY COMMON ROOM

Every house needs a place where students from the floor or entryway can come together to relax. To provide this for students in swing housing, Quincy converted apartment rooms into public common rooms, in which students can gather together, whether it be for study breaks or study groups. Common rooms have everything from flat screens TVs to sofas to ping pong tables.

THE DISTANCE

Adams used to be the closest upperclassman housing to the Yard. Now, the apartments above the Harvard Bookstore and JP Licks claim this title. Students who live in the apartments not only get working elevators, but they also get the fortune of living right across the street from the Yard. While many upperclassmen have to wake up earlier to catch the shuttle, residents in the Quincy swing space can roll out of bed five minutes before class. Upperclassman housing with freshman perks.

However, being closer to the Yard also means being farther away from Quincy itself, but students in the swing space don't seem to mind.

"I really think that Quincy is doing a great job to make us feel like we are a part of the house," said Chris S. White '15, a resident of Hampden Hall.