First draft

This is part of my first draft. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to improve it?

Thanks :D

As a freshman at Ball State University, you are required to live on campus unless you live within sixty miles of campus. There are many dorm options on campus and the layouts are all different. One of the dorms that Ball State offers is Studebaker East, or “Stu Easy” by those who live there. Studebaker East is located on the east end of campus and is home to approximately 440 men and women. Upon arrival at Stu East, I wondered how living in that particular dorm would affect how I chose to live my college life. After interviewing and doing some research here is what I came up with.
Presumptions of a small mind
I came from a small town of approximately 1500 people and attended a small high school. My biggest fear about college was getting caught up in the social life and failing at the classroom portion. The thought of sharing a small living space with someone new was also scary to me. A few other thoughts had been running through my mind during the process of enrolling in Ball State University. I had the idea in my head that everyone would want to party constantly and that schooling would come second to everything else. I also believed that the co ed dorms would be louder and that the guys and girls would be hanging out in each others rooms at every hour of the night. Some of these presumptions were true to an extent, but after experiencing the dorms my thoughts changed. I had thought about living in dorms for awhile, but nothing really prepared me for the real deal.
First impressions
When we pulled up to the building, I realized how much different it would be than living at home. The building was huge, and I knew I wouldn’t get much privacy. The opening to the building almost reminded me of a church. The first thing you see when you pull up is a huge glass area with a duel staircase leading up to the dorm entrance. There were paintings of Charlie the cardinal all over the windows that first week, and from the looks of those I thought that the dorm would be really involved with any school activities. There were footballs and school bells on the window as well. Those particular images made me think that Stu East would be a fan of Cardinal football and that we would strive for our best in our academic areas. We used the storage elevator to move everything up to the fourth floor of the building. It was a small, creepy elevator that made disturbing noises as it pushed it’s way up the building. At this point I was certain that Studebaker East would be a crappy dorm compared to the others on campus. The rooms were a decent size, bigger than what I had been expecting, but still small. I figured that living in such a close quarter would bring everyone closer, but as I got into the school year I realized that you don’t really see the people you’re living around. The only time you see them is if you have a floor meeting, activity, or if you become really close with them and make an effort to see them on a daily basis. Most people seemed shy on my floor and that really disappointed me. After all, one of the things I was looking forward to was creating new friendships and bonds with those around me. I had heard that the friends you make in college are the ones that stay for life.
Waffles and dances and meetings, oh my!
The floor meetings and times vary from floor to floor but they are a regular occurrence. These meetings are held to refresh students of the rules, regulations, and any upcoming events that may be happening. In the dorms, there are quiet hours from eleven to nine in the morning from Monday through Friday and the weekend hours are one in the morning until eleven. These hours are to help students study and be successful in their studies. Most of the students I talked to love the idea of quiet hours, but claim they don’t really work. Ashleigh Webber, a resident of the fourth floor, feels that the quiet hours are a nice idea, but they are never really strictly enforced and therefore seem more like show than to actually help the students out. I will continue to ask Ashleigh for her input throughout this project. She is a resident of the hall and she is a very social member of the fourth floor. Any resident of the hall would be a good interviewee for this project. The ones who have first hand experience living within the dorm will be the most helpful. I plan to continue interviewing the residents of Studebaker East and ask them various questions such as: How has dorm life changed you? How has dorm life affected your grades? Has living in a residents hall changed how you interact with people and how so? Do you think living in Studebaker East your freshman year will affect how you live the rest of your Ball State years and why?