3/14/2019
Welcome to the Housing Guide
As the end of the spring semester draws near, the student body is now reminded that it’s almost time to answer that fateful question: Where are you going to live next year? That is a daunting question, especially if this is the first time you’ve had to make this decision. However, whether it’s your first or fifth, The Duke understands that where you live is important and can greatly influence the outcome of your future semester. We want to take some of that pressure off and hand out the tools so that everyone knows exactly what they’re getting into.
In the 2019-2020 Housing Guide, we have laid out every Living Learning Center on campus, complete with photos, prices and testimonials from students currently living there. They are completely honest and we held nothing back in bringing you the truth — after all, you do have to live there, so you should know if the water pressure is subpar or if it’s the perfect spot to study.
Our capacities are based on estimations from the university, but those could change year-to-year based on how many incoming students there are and how the rooms are filled. In this special edition, we are listing the prices for every room style in the building ranging from singles to suites with nine people in them.
Go forth and learn about Duquesne’s Living Learning Centers from those who know them best, and may the odds be ever in your favor at the Housing Lottery.
Assumption Hall
Fast facts:
Year Built: 1954
Remodeled: 2017-2018
Price: triple – $2,887;
double – $3,597; single – $5,341
Capacity: about 250 residents
Years Allowed: all years
Room Types: singles, doubles and triples
Laundry Facilities: on ground floor and each floor
Bathroom facilities: communal on each floor and each wing, recently remodeled
What Students think:
I love living in Assumption. There’s a really great sense of community because there’s only one floor of guys, so we all know each other. The new bathrooms are also a huge plus. There are only a few things I don’t like about Assumption. There are a lot of noise complaints made. I think it’s because as an honors college dorm, many people are studying into the night and so the RAs make lots of visits.”
— Zach Reed, freshman
I honestly think it’s the best freshman dorm. The bathrooms are remodeled so that’s really nice. The rooms are pretty good size too, plus you can control the temperature of your specific room.”
— Soren De Niz, freshman
“I wanted my senior year to be as stress-free as possible. I live in an inexpensive, single dorm that is very close to a computer lab and Market. I can sleep in until 10 minutes before class. I can walk outside as late as I want to and never once think that I am unsafe. The building itself (lobby, dorms and newly renovated bathrooms) is clean and my room is way more spacious than I expected a single dorm to be. Personally, I think choosing to spend my senior year in Assumption Hall was one of the best decisions I made in college.”
— Dana Demsko, senior
St. Ann Hall
Fast facts:
Year Built: 1963-64
Price: triple – $2,887;
double – $3,597; single – $5,341
Capacity: 520 residents
Years Allowed: freshmen
Room Types: singles, doubles, triples
Laundry Facilities: on first floor of each wing
Bathroom Facilities: communal, in each wing
What student’s think:
“Living in St. Ann’s was a rewarding experience. The community feeling truly helped me adjust to my life as a college student. I am thankful for the girls I’ve met living in Ann’s and the support I’ve felt from the staff there, too.”
— Emily Buchman, freshman
“I do enjoy my time living in St. Ann’s for the most part. I like my living space, the girls on my floor and my RA. However, the bathroom and laundry room are not ideal. They lack the cleanliness and facilities to accommodate all of the student needs. Overall, I enjoy St. Ann’s.”
— Kayleigh Peternel, freshman
“What I most dislike about Ann’s has got to be the laundry room. Where there is only six washers and dryers for the guys side of the building and no matter what time of day it is, it’s always crowded.
— Christian Abitz, freshman
Duquesne Towers
Fast facts:
Year Built: 1971
Price: doubles – $3,597; singles – $5,341
Capacity: 1,113 residents
Years Allowed: freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, grad and law
Room Types: doubles, triples, wings
Laundry Facilities: in each wing
Bathroom Facilities: communal, in each wing
What’s New: new bathroom flooring
What students think:
“Living in Towers is great because it is extremely convenient between having the main dining hall located on the second floor and a printing lab in the lobby. My least favorite part is how separated Towers is due to all the wings and the swipe access. I think that the separation especially harms the freshman in making friends that live in their building.”
— Kat Holz, Sophomore
“The thing I hate the most about Towers would easily be the fact that right now we cannot control the temperature of at all. We have no control how hot or how cold our room’s get, so if it breaks and goes up to 80 we’re stuck with that until the feel like fixing it.”
— Matthew Fijalkowski, sophomore
“It is definitely the most convenient place to live, seeing as where it is on campus especially when walking to classes. I hate that our door beeps everytime I go to get water though, [but] that’s honestly it.”
— Jason Roberts, sophomore
St.Martin Hall
Fast facts:
Year Built: 1961
Price: triple – $2,887;
double – $3,597; single – $5,341
Capacity: 550 residents
Years Allowed: freshmen, upperclassmen in single rooms only
Room Types: singles, doubles and triples
Laundry Facilities: on each floor
Bathroom Facilities: communal, on each floor
What’s New: new flooring in some areas
What students think:
“The computer lab in the lobby in super convenient and is nice if I need to print something out late at night…The shower stalls are small and kind of gross. Also sometimes the water doesn’t get very hot so you gotta be ok with lukewarm showers some days.”
— Travis Barkefelt, freshman
“Martins has been an adventure to say the least. Sometimes it’s loud and sometimes the washer breaks, but it’s home and every girl has become like family to me. We decorate the common room together and we always are there for each other, no matter what. I couldn’t see myself living anywhere else.”
— Katie Ryan, freshman
“The best thing about St. Martins has to be the clean showers. My biggest gripe has to be the unreliability of the washing machines.”
— Aidan Shields, freshman
Vickroy Hall
Fast Facts:
Year Built: 1997
Price: triple – $3,043; double – $3,775; single – $5,601
Capacity: 283 residents
Years Allowed: sophomores, juniors, seniors, grad and law
Room Types: two-room suite-style
Laundry Facilities: on each floor
Bathroom Facilities: one per suite
What’s New: All furniture and carpeting replaced in 2015 and new bathroom flooring
What students think
“I think Vickroy is a great dorm, especially for upperclassmen. It has a lot less energy than Towers, but that makes it a bit quieter and less rowdy at night. It’s more spacious than most of the dorms I’ve been in and the kitchen is a huge plus. The lighting is really poor, honestly. I feel like I have to put my own lights on. Also, the heating only goes between super hot and not on at all.”
— Shawn Robinson, junior
Des Places
Fast Facts:
Year Built: 2012
Price: Three-bedroom suite, 3 per room – $3,043; Three-bedroom suite, 2 per room – $3,675
Two Bedroom Suite, 3 per room – $3,345
Two Bedroom Suite , 2 per bedroom – $4,030
One Bedroom Suite, 3 students – $3,666
One Bedroom Suite, 2 students – $4,417
Capacity: 425 residents
Years Allowed: sophomores, juniors, seniors, grad and law
Room Types: one-, two- and three-room suite-style
Laundry Facilities: on each floor
Bathroom Facilities: one bathroom in the one or two bedroom, two in the three bedrooms
What students think
“Having your own bathroom is a big step up from freshman communal living, and being in a suite makes you feel so much closer to your roommates.”
— Hannah Hildebrand, sophomore
“I’m very confident that Des Places is the best Learning Living Center at Duquesne. There’s a lot of natural light, it’s all very clean and new, and the lounges are super nice and great for doing homework or hanging with pals.”
— Carissa Haslam, sophomore
“The study lounges are huge, much bigger than when I used to live in Vickroy. The suite style rooms are awesome regarding sinks and bathrooms.The huge ceilings in the bedrooms are also a plus. As for cons, if you have a rooms facing Mercy or St. Ann’s, the beeping at the Mercy gate is on all the time and is quite annoying at first, but you learn to tune it out.”
— Leah Pigeon, sophomore
Brottier Hall
Fast Facts:
Year Built: 1969
Price: Studio- single – $14,404(standard) $14,692 (renovated)
Studio-double – $7,202 (standard) $7,346 (renovated)
1 bedroom – two students – $8,985 (standard) $9,185 (renovated)
1 bedroom triple – $5,991 (standard) N/A
2 bedroom – four students – $6,271 (standard) $6,397 (renovated)
Capacity: 660 residents
Years Allowed: juniors, seniors, grad and law
Room Types: studio, one- and two-room apartments
Laundry Facilities: on G-level
Bathroom Facilities: private in each unit
What’s New: Nothing yet, but major renovations are set to take place summer of 2019
What students think
“The location is super convenient for a student that doesn’t have a car, you can’t beat the apartment feeling with the convenience of campus. Management is a bit dysfunctional though, and it takes longer to respond to student problems than it should.”
— Dan Smolsky, junior
“Suites get dishwashers and the other rooms [singles] don’t, I have to do my dishes by hand and I’m sad. I like being on campus, all my classes are in Rockwell so I can get up like 10 minutes before class and still make it.”
— Caleb McConnell, junior
“I live in one of the bigger studio apartments in Brottier and I find it to be the perfect size for my roommate and I. However we’ve had several water problems within our apartment that maintenance was particularly slow with handling each time. Also, whenever it’s windy outside (which it often is in Pittsburgh) the building infrastructure is so old that it creaks loud enough for it to wake me up and for the person I FaceTime to hear it.”
— Victoria Wilson, junior
