About Canaday

Alright, this time it's gonna be a story from me, since Canaday is where I spent my freshman year. I was never too much into "my dorm/house/school/country is the best one around", so don't be discouraged that my story does not begin with "congratulations on getting into the best dorm ever". Canaday is, as our headmaster used to say, a "fine dorm", just like any other dorm with its own pluses and minuses. Ah yes, a word of warning for all of you: when you read these stories, keep in mind that they describe individual student's rooms and experiences, and while certain dorms have identical rooms throughout (e.g. Stoughton and Hollis), other may have slight (e.g. Canaday) or even big (e.g. Matthews) variations.

First, let me tell you about the dorm itself. Look at the map, and you will notice that Canaday is shaped like a question mark. Rotate the map so you can see "?". From the top tip onwards come entryways A, B, C, D, E, and F; the dot is entryway G. Entryways are not connected except through fire dorms (that remain open) and basement (which is not accessible from all entryways). This does not, however, save you from full dorm evacuation whenever some idiot pulls the file alarm at 2 o'clock in the morning, when the entire dorm has to get out (and unlike,  say, in Eliot, Canaday's alarm is just impossible to tolerate, so whether you like it or not, you will have to get out). Being the biggest dorm on Campus (with some 200 people), Canaday inevitably is one of the top buildings by the number of times fire alarm sounds. Fortunately, fire station is just across the road, so usually by the time you get out of the building the fire brigade is already there. Of course, that also presents a downside, since that very fire station across the road sends the brigades not only to Canaday, but also all over Cambridge, which means you will have to get used to the signaling that accompanies them. For light late sleepers among you, Memorial Church will present a much greater threat: located right beside Canaday, it will wake you up with its bells at 8.45 every morning, and will continue to remind you about the beginning of lectures every hour until around 4pm. I am a light sleeper but an early "riser", so that didn't bother me at all. The exterior of the dorm and the interior of the staircases is certainly not in Crimson style, but trust me, it does not matter that much.

These are, however, just about all the inconveniences that Canaday residents will encounter. Dorm's location is pretty nice -- right next to Annenberg and the Science Center on one side, and Yard classrooms on the other. Among other facilities, Canaday has its own common room with a TV and VCR (may well be a DVD player by now), vending machines, laundry facilities, and kitchen.

I am not entirely positive, but I believe that some entryways have only 4 floors, while others have 5 (may be that all of them have 5 though). There is a proctor in each entryway. All floors are pretty much the same, except for the first floor, which only has one room (with a private bathroom). All other floors have three rooms, and although arrangements may occasionally vary, in most cases it ends up being a quad (3 singles+C/R) on the left, a single in the middle and a room for 5 (4 singles+C/R) on the right. Your assignment will look like "Canaday E-34", where E is the entryway, 3 is the floor and 4 is the room (1=left, 2=middle, 4=right).

Depending on how full they are this year, you may get either (n+1) or n rooms for n people. Each suite (except for singles) has a large common room and a few single rooms. If you get (n+1) arrangement, consider yourselves very lucky: you will each have a single, and a large common room -- luxury you won't have again until your senior year. If you get n rooms, you will have to make one of the singles a double (with a bunk bed), or have one bed in the common room. Such single-turned-doubles are not large enough for two beds, two desks and two closets, so some stuff (usually desks) will go outside into the common room. You can also agree to rotate at semester-end. If you are in the situation when you need to decide who should live together, I suggest you do NOT draw straws. While this is supposedly fair, this rarely leaves people content. I would recommend talking to your roommates, and perhaps even waiting for a day or two so that you could get to know each other and decide who will be better off with whom. In my frosh year we drew straws, and of two people selected one was me. I didn't mind a double, but not with that guy, and that guy wanted a single. As a result our other roommate, who bought us all right there with his selflessness for the good of others, agreed to give up his single and live with me in a double, making all five of us better off.

If you think your singles are small, go see some other dorms. Canaday's rooms are pretty good, very bright because of large windows, with great common rooms, good noise isolation, carpeted floors, and at least some sort of airconditioning. All in all, you get about 10 people on the floor, all sharing one bathroom (with two showers, two WCs and two sinks). Maybe I was just waking up much earlier than others, but I never had to wait to use the bathroom. Bathrooms are cleaned every day by FMO (Facilities Maintenance Operations).

About Canaday

Canaday a.k.a The Projects, has a bad reputation due to its less than pleasing exterior and lack of history.  But as any Canadayien will testify the advantages of this riot proof bunker far outnumber the "oh, I am sorry to hear that you got placed into Canaday" remarks that you will have to field this coming year. Canaday is the closest dorm to Annenberg and the Science Center, you will be thankful when other freshman are snowed in and go without food for days while you have a 40 sec walk to the freshman dining hall and most of your classes. Then you also have singles, a valued commodity. Most freshmen in Canaday get one room for themselves and a spacious common room to boot. Another big advantage would be the access to a larger dorm community.  Students in smaller (read incestuous) dorms like Mower and Lionel often complained about their limited social spheres. Other students might be living in century old rooms once occupied by Presidents and famous people but they do not have carpeting, adjustable AC and bathrooms that are cleaned daily!