Housing selection time is always chaotic here at Hopkins. There is no rhyme or reason to the lottery number you get, if you even get one at all.
Hopkins is not a really large school, so I personally do not understand why it does not guarantee housing for all four years.
If NYU can do so when it is smack-dab in the middle of the largest, most crowded city in America, I feel like Hopkins should as well.
However, there is definitely at least one major benefit of living off campus, even if you're forced to do so - you no longer have to worry about sneaking things in. You know what I'm talking about.
I remember getting that list of contraband objects before coming here freshman year. The prohibition of drugs, alcohol and firearms makes sense to me, but apparently you also cannot have cloth banners, empty food or beverage containers (Oops! I'm totally guilty of that one), orange security cones (but any other color is fine?) and live Christmas trees.
If you don't believe me, this list of items can be found in the "Experience Hopkins" guidebook we got at the beginning of the year.
Nevertheless, what is one to do if one wants to have these things in the dorms? Well, I don't know about the live Christmas trees and orange security cones (this rule baffles me completely) but anything else is fairly easy to hide. Candles, hookahs and weapons can all easily fit into closets and drawers when room check time comes around.
I would also suggest that you open a window when you use anything that requires fire, as it is quite hard to be inconspicuous when your fire alarm is going off.
Also, it would probably be beneficial not to have a street-facing room if you want to use these items.
Residential Life tells you that room checks are only once a semester, but this is not the case.
They also usually come around during the longer breaks like Thanksgiving, winter break and spring break, looking for contraband objects then as well. Keep that in mind if you plan on hiding anything in your dorm.
I have had many friends that have had things taken out of their rooms during these times, including alcohol they had sitting out in their kitchen.
I would be careful with the rules against cloth banners, ceiling hangings, tapestries and large posters. It would be annoying to constantly be taking them down and putting them back up.
Personally, I wonder what they do if they find an excess of empty food or beverage containers in a room. Do they remove them like they do everything else that is prohibited?
If so, I wish one of them would take a walk through my room right now. I could use the help.
A problem that plagues both on- and off-campus residents is how to hide a pet. None of the on-campus residence halls allow them, only a few apartment buildings are OK with them and those that are usually charge at least a small fee if you want to have one.
Pet-hiding is a bit more difficult than hookah-hiding, as one could imagine. Hookahs do not make nearly as much noise as dogs, and they don't need to be walked.
I would not recommend getting a pet if your residence does not allow one, but if you insist, be smart and get something that doesn't make noise and does not need to be taken out of the room.
Cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, iguanas and turtles are all good choices. Make sure you clean its living space often so the smell does not permeate the hallway.
I do not condone unnecessary rule-breaking (once again, why do you need an orange security cone?) but I do feel that some sneaking around is OK.
If you are going to hide stuff in your room, though, be smart about it, and maybe become close friends with your RA.
