An 11-foot by 15-foot dormitory room may be considered home for some Sacramento State students. For freshman Brittney Avellar, a communications and public relations major, it has become boring and difficult.

“I feel like I’m living out of a box,” Avellar said about her Draper Hall room. “It’s terrible.”The most difficult part of living in the residence halls and sharing a room is the lack of space provided for each individual, she said.

“Having a condensed area, it’s just hard,” said Avellar, looking toward her half of the room.On the other hand, Avellar said the dorms provide her with what she needs as a first-year freshman. She decided to live on campus in order to meet new people and experience the college life.

“I came here to meet new people and be close to campus, and that’s what I got,” she said. Alan Camyre, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, also agreed that living at the dorms is beneficial for the college experience. This is his second year living at the residence halls.

“I met a lot of people from living in the dorms,” Camyre said. He explained that living with a bunch of people experiencing the same situation has helped.

Cynthia Cockrill, director of housing and residential life, said living around people experiencing the same situation is important and that on-campus housing can give students an opportunity to connect with both each other and the campus.

“It’s about establishing and creating life-long friendships and connecting to the institution,” Cockrill said.

Housing and Residential Life holds programming to educate residents in dorm safety as well as bring them together. The programs can be categorized as educational, recreational and social.

Both Avellar and Camyre have participated in some of these events. Avellar went to the ice cream social earlier this year and even won a prize. Camyre said participating in events has helped him meet new people.

As for parties in the residence halls, Camyre said there usually aren’t any problems as long as you’re quiet. Dorm residents are allowed no more than 10 people in their room.

Avellar said it’s difficult to study and that she usually studies in her residence hall’s study room.

The average cost of living in the dorms is between $7,092 and $7,498, depending on the meal plan. Other setups or premium rooms are limited, but available for additional costs.

Camyre likes the fact that meals come with living at the dorms. Avellar said the outside of the Dining Commons smells like a sewer and that the food could become monotonous.

All rooms are fully furnished with single beds, closets, desks and dressers. The university provides Internet access and each room is allowed to have one miniature refrigerator and one microwave.

Camyre said he decided to live on campus for a second year because of its convenience. His only complaint is “sharing a bathroom with 40 other guys.”

Avellar said the bathroom situation is inconvenient because of the lack of cleanliness. “It will still be dirty even after someone goes in to clean it,” she said

Cockrill said the housing at Sac State is currently undergoing plans for improvement. Anderson Strickler, LLC, a national firm that does studies for universities, has talked to Sac State students in focus groups about their living preferences. Afterwards, the firm developed a survey, which went out to various students through e-mail. With the living preferences of 2,160 students who have responded, the firm is doing the analysis.

Cockrill said she will have the analysis within the next month and that the firm is also working out the finances which will give the university a long-term master plan of what kind of new housing will be put on the campus.

“It should be very, very interesting,” she said.

Cockrill said many students have left homes where they had their own bedroom and bathroom. “We have to modernize,” she said.

Avellar said that the problem with the dorms is that it doesn’t feel like a home. “It’s like a jail cell,” she said. “It’s depressing.”

She is looking into moving to The Verge, an apartment complex off of 4th Avenue, next year, but admits that if the university improves the residence halls she might consider staying.

“It’ll feel more like a home,” she said. She explained that having her own bathroom, kitchen and control of the room’s temperature would be great improvements.

Nika Megino can be reached at [email protected]