LOGAN — When Utah State University sophomore Broden Howell lost his footing just 10 feet from reaching the top of Jones Hall in Logan, he wasn't thinking about getting fined for the "No climbing on the building" rule during his near 45-foot drop back down to earth.
And, now that Howell hobbles around from class to class in a cast, having broken his leg in three places, he said he never received the expected $50 penalty for treating the hall as he might a mountainside.
"The dorm ended up sending me flowers," Howell said, who admitted to probably having more stainless steel in his healing leg than most people have in their kitchen. "I think housing figured I'd learned my lesson."
His is only one of several stories serving as a sort of modern folklore for USU students who have chosen to live in one of its many dormitories or — as a select few are careful to call them — "residence halls."
"Up here, when they use the word 'dorm,' it's like 'We gotta get out of it' and 'We have to stay away from that,' " said Dallin Hall, USU Resident Hall Student Association president.
For students who actually live in the dorms, however, the negative connotations are scattered and few. After all, Merrill Hall allows its residents to check out board games and vacuums at the front desk free of charge, and access school e-mail accounts in the lobby. Each room has separate phone lines for Internet access, and there are no utility bills to split between roommates.
According to sophomore Jason Cone, 23, the rules are easy to follow, like keeping it down during "quiet hours," maintaining a clean room and not burning candles (there's a $25 fine for having a lit one).
Tasting the surroundings is also a big no-no.
"We had to sign a thing at the beginning of the year saying we would not lick the walls," said Merrill resident Jonathan Pride. Some dorms had lead paint when they were first constructed.
Helping keep residents in line are Resident Assistants (R.A.), whose pager numbers posted through the dorms are like the buildings' very own 911's, with an advisory to call only in case of emergencies. "Emergency" is a relative term, though, as far as Greaves Hall R.A. Heather Waddoups is concerned. She's had complaints from students who've had their food stolen by thieving roommates, ones whose roommates haven't done their chores and students who object to roommates' visitors.
"I know some R.A.'s who have dealt with roommates trying to poison one another," said Waddoups, a R.A. for the past five years.
"I've also noticed that, the more females there are, the more disagreements there are. But in co-ed dorms, (girls) tend to get along better . . . they don't want guys to know they're fighting."
The job of an R.A. is also to help ease the college freshman into what is typically his or her first year away from home, making that transition as smooth as possible. Waddoups, who remembers her first year at school as being a difficult time, recently conducted a week of activities for the 60 or so female residents of Greaves Hall that included how to cook scones and how to keep the "Freshman 15" off.
Once in great while, a student gets to feeling so comfortable in the dorm setting, he doesn't know when to leave. Freshman Bethany Robinson cites the "really old guy in his late 20s" at Mountain View Tower that "all the girls run away from."
Though she and friend Jody Campbell both enjoy living on campus so far, both agree the experience will only last a year before they move on to greener pastures.
While apartment-style housing (three bedrooms, six roommates, one bathroom) offers students their own kitchen and cooking facilities, those in traditional sleep-study dorms are required to purchase a meal plan at The Junction, a cafeteria used mostly by students in on-campus housing. Students may complain about the cafeteria food, but they also get to enjoy little perks like The Depot — open considerably later than the main cafeteria until 2 a.m.
Those in apartment-style housing experience a world of difference beyond battered fish, though.
"I went to a girls dorm, and they were all contributing to a meal. It was weird," Cone said. "Here, I cook my own frozen burrito, and Billy cooks his own Top Ramen. That's just the way it goes."
Privacy is also yearned for in what has been called a "forced" social setting in the dorms, one reason some students already want to move out when the year is through.
"I'll be able to find 'me' time and take a nap without people walking right in to use the phone," said Campbell, who admits the earliest time she's been able to go to sleep is 1:30 a.m.
"But we like it here. We call it our hole in the wall."
E-MAIL: dmoody@desnews.com