Synopsis

One of the key aspects of going to college is living in a dorm or residence hall. There can be many benefits and disadvantages for students to live in a dorm, however it is necessary for all college freshman to live in one. Overall, Palo Verde is an outdated residential community at Arizona State University and thus is harmful and not a good place to live for students. Palo Verde is a dorm and living area for students at Arizona State University. It consists of three dormitories which include Palo Verde East, Palo Verde West, and Palo Verde Main. Palo Verde is one of Arizona State University’s older dorms, it has been giving students a place to live since the 1950s and 1960s. Palo Verde has witnessed a lot of history since its opening and generations of students have lived there throughout the years. It is situated on the Northern end of campus and borders University Drive. It is very close to the Sun Devil stadium and the Wells Fargo arena so it is convenient to watch sporting events. Many of the students that live in the Palo Verde area are engineering students form the Ira Fulton School of Engineering, though there are also students in the WP Carey School of Business and students who are exploratory and have not yet chosen their major.
 

There are many dorms across the United States that are considered good and bad.  There are many factors that can make a dorm be considered good or bad.  One factor is how old the dorm is, in our case Palo Verde was established in the 1960s and seeing that the year is 2012 we can tell that it is pretty old.  Also, with old dorms there has been more usage of the rooms by people, so the older a dorm is the more it has been used.  For instance, if a dorm or residence hall is thirty, forty, or even fifty years old one could only imagine how many spills, accidents, and disasters students have committed in the dorm rooms over the years.  Furthermore, another factor is the location the dorm is on campus. Location is a key factor because it determines how convenient it is for students to get to certain areas on campus. In Julia DeVillers book The College Dorm Survival Guide she proclaims, “Your dorm location can have a surprisingly big impact on your daily routine” (DeVillers, 14).  Palo Verde’s location on the Arizona State University campus is not that good, for the most part wherever you want to go on campus you have to cross University Drive and there are not that many classes that are conveniently located if you live there. An additional factor that is to be considered is dining. Dining is a big factor when it comes to living in a dorm because every student has to eat.  DeVillers asserts, "For some people, the dining hall is the best place on campus. Food and friends! What’s better? For others, though, it can be uncomfortable" (DeVillers, 172).  A dorm that has good dining typically has a dining hall near or in the dormitory itself. Also, we must consider how good the food is at the dining hall and what kind of fashion the food is served in, meaning buffet or restaurant style. Another important factor is the bathroom situation in a dorm or residence hall.  DeVillers thinks of a bathroom as , "a community hub in many dorms— the place you’ll meet, greet, and take a seat with your fellow residents" (DeVillers, 62).  Traditionally when you think of a dorm in college you think of community bathrooms where you have to walk down the hall just to take a shower. However, there are also dorms where you only have to share a bathroom between two rooms and there are also other dorms where you only have to share a bathroom with just your roommate. Furthermore, unless you like to share bathrooms with people the obvious best case scenario would be to share a bathroom with your roommate. Those are some of the factors that can determine whether a dorm is considered good or bad; however there are many more that have not been mentioned.
 

Furthermore, Palo Verde has many places that reveal how good and bad it is. One of these places is the Palo Verde East building. It is one of the dorms you could live in at Palo Verde. This building is typically made up of engineering students. Another place at Palo Verde is the University lawn which is centered in the middle of Palo Verde. It is used by many students and people to relax and have fun.  An additional place is the bridge which connects Palo Verde with the rest of the Arizona State University campus. The bridge is used by students and people as a convenient way to cross University Drive. Finally, the Palo Verde main building is another place at Palo Verde. It is another dorm that you could live in besides Palo Verde East and Palo Verde West. It is made up of engineering students as well and it also encompasses several restaurants where students can eat at.
 

In conclusion, Palo Verde is one of the major resident options for students at Arizona State University. It has been a part of Arizona State University for around half a century and thus is very old and outdated.  Since Palo Verde is so old and outdated hopefully one day ASU may renovate or completely rebuild Palo Verde so it can be enjoyed by future students in the University.  However, as of right now Palo Verde is a bad place to live and harmful towards students and the ASU community.