Two old dorms adjoin, which, according to Eckerson, makes visiting friends much easier. If a friend is not in an adjacent dorm, but he or she lives in old dorms, he or she is no more than a stone's throw away. New dorms, on the other hand, are spread out. It may take someone five minutes or more to walk from one end of the new dorm area to the other end. The tight cluster of the old dorms allows for a friendlier atmosphere and makes visiting friends in other old dorms much easier visiting friends in new dorms.
New dorms do hold some advantages over the old dorms.
In the new dorms, students get to know a smaller group of people very well because the living spaces are arranged into suites. This is not such an advantage if one does not share many common interests with one's suitemates, however. Structural advantages constitute the best aspects of new dorms. The rooms in the new dorms are bigger than those in the old dorms. More storage and closet space exists in the new dorms than there is in the old dorms.