To many students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, The Statesider — an off-campus housing option for freshmen — has a very negative reputation. As inadequate as the holes in the walls on every floor, the occasional – yet gross – urine in the elevators and the broken washing machines are, The Statesider is called home by many freshmen who overlook the unfortunate events.
When you walk into The Statesider you are immediately greeted by many friendly faces of fellow freshmen who want to socialize with you until five in the morning — literally. The party never stops.
With no RAs, you can blast your music as loud as you want and dance through the night until your 6 a.m. calculus class. People will leave their doors open 24/7, which leads to meeting new people every day, helping you expand your circle of friends and meet people you see in the elevators every morning on the way to class.
In The Statesider, you are forced to mature and grow up faster than you would in any other dorm. With kitchens on every floor you can cook yourself a meal at any time of the day, but you have to be careful to not set off the fire alarm — anything will trigger it. Just recently the whole building was evacuated because of a simple frozen pizza. You also have to learn to problem solve, mainly when the washing machine on your floor is broken and you have to run through all 10 floors to find one machine that's open and works, a sighting almost as rare as an air conditioning unit that works.
However, on each floor is the most perfect view of the Madison Capitol Building, right down State Street, which, in addition to the location of the building, makes up for everything else.
The students who live in The Statesider would never trade it for anything in the world. You meet your best friends and you are all in it together, which brings everyone closer together. The Statesider bond is one that you cannot replicate in any other building, and one that you are lucky to get to experience once in your lifetime. So next time you hear a bad rumor about a certain place, don’t be too quick to judge.
