What It’s Really Like Living in New North (When You Didn’t Want To)

photo credit: USC Housing

by Avery Thunder ‘26

New North! The residential hall that everyone talks about like it’s one of the nine circles of hell. That’s where I spent most of my Freshman year, rotting away as I attempted to feed myself while simultaneously going to school (harder than it seems). I was not intentionally in New North. When I filled out the housing application, I put Birnkrant as my first choice, which was mainly because they had an elevator. Also, everyone online said that New North was the party dorm, which I wasn’t exactly for or against. It seemed like it had the potential to be entertaining but also very annoying. That’s exactly what it was like. 

Luckily, I was paired with a fellow Birnkrant reject. Because of this, neither of us were interested in Greek life. I managed to find a group of people on my floor who had a similar mentality. This changed everything. It became more of a shared traumatic experience, one that we became much closer because of. 

So, I’ll answer the question everyone always asks when I tell them about my Freshman year, “What was it like?!” Honestly, it was fine. Mostly, you’ll either be sleeping, working, or crying in your dorm room, and that’s true in any residence hall. In the spirit of ending on a high note, I’ll start with the worst parts of living in New North.

No air conditioning: this, for me, was the worst part of the entire situation. For some context, my Freshman year started in the middle of an intense heatwave, so I can’t speak to how bad it is in a regular  year. We didn’t have AC and spent the first couple weeks laying in front of two fans on full blast. We kept our windows open at night, and shut them in the day to try to keep the heat out. We put ice in front of the fan to try to help cool the room down. It was rough, especially since this was the first time many of us had lived away from home. USC needs to provide air conditioning in all of their dorms because, as heat waves become increasingly common, this will be a life threatening issue. 

The noise was another nuisance, but it’s not the noise you’re expecting. Most people think the loudest part of New North is the parties. Wrong! The walls within the dorm are actually very thick, and it is difficult to hear much unless the party is right in front of your door. The rooms are so soundproof that the fire alarm sounded like a far away siren, and I had friends who slept through it. 

The horrible sound is from outside. How bad this is completely depends on where your room is located within the building. In my room, we had the loading dock for EVK right below us. So, twice a night, from around 3 to 6 a.m., we would be woken up by the sound of a truck backing up, and it, apparently, takes trucks forever to back up! This was particularly annoying during the heatwave because we couldn’t close the window at night. If the windows were closed, it was usually bearable. 

The other big noise was from the sirens. New North is by a main road, and if your room is close enough to it, you’ll hear emergency vehicle sirens all night. I didn’t realize it was abnormal until I moved into my current apartment, where those sounds are much more muffled. I know my friends on the other side of the building had it pretty rough on certain weekends because their window was directly above the beach volleyball court, and players would blast music early in the morning. Game day was another major noise nuisance. 

Moving onto the less hellish and more purgatory sides of New North. Before college, communal bathrooms were a massive fear of mine. Genuinely, they kept me up at night. Maybe it’s because my expectations were so low, but they were actually completely fine. It was weird at first, I’ll admit, but there’s honestly enough space in there to go around. You don’t feel like someone might come barging into the showers at any second or anything like that. The showers are only covered by curtains, no locks like some other colleges, but it’s not nearly as scary as it sounds. And, yes, the bathrooms can get a bit gross sometimes, but the convenient part? You don’t have to worry about it. When you have your own place, that bathroom will be your responsibility, but in New North? It’s none of your business. But, still, don’t be a horrible person and at least clean up after yourself. 

Of course, the parties are what everyone never shuts up about. Yes, there are parties in the dorms. Luckily, you end up not being involved if you don’t want to be. Like I said, the walls are thick; you can ignore things pretty easily if you want to. You’ll run into drunk people if you go roaming the halls, but they’re usually harmless. Also, at a certain point in the semester, everyone seems to just go party at the frats anyway, so you’re in the clear. 

If I’m being honest, I miss New North in a lot of ways. When I was there, I couldn’t wait to get out. Looking back, I had a lot of fun. There was definitely a lot less responsibility because I didn’t have a kitchen or bathroom to clean. I had my little corner, and that was all I had to worry about. I liked my desk, my bed, and my wardrobe. Everything was nicely spaced out, I never felt cramped or suffocated. I don’t know if it’s like this in all the rooms, but the lighting was great, and we had a very cute windowsill to put all our plants and trinkets on. 

I had so many friends that lived right next to me. We still keep in touch, but it’s not the same. We actually have to plan to meet up instead of spontaneously knocking on each others’ doors. I also enjoy people-watching, and there’s no better place for that than in a dorm, especially one as chaotic as New North. You’ll never be without entertainment if you just go sit in the lobby area for a bit. 

My favorite part of living in New North was the location. I think it’s under-appreciated when people talk about the dorm. It is so close to everything. Since I moved out of New North, I’ve had to get up way earlier to be able to make it to class. Every class is only a 5 minute walk from the dorm. Also, EVK is right there, directly below you. There’s a special door at the exit of EVK that leads directly into New North. You also live right by the street, so if you want to Fryft anywhere, you don’t have to walk out to a main road to get a pick up. You’re also right next to the quad where they have a ton of events, and Leavey Library and Trojan Grounds are around the corner. The village is across the street. My first year, I knew a lot of kids who lived in McCarthy, and I was jealous at first (mainly because of the air conditioning), but then I started to realize how conveniently my dorm was located and how I never had to cross a single street to go to class. 

So, yes, New North is definitely horrible in some ways. You will probably get lost in its weird, square, never-ending hallways, and you will get the freshman/frat flu that everyone in the building passes around. You will most definitely suffer without AC. But, it’s not half as bad as people say it is. In the end, you’ll have friends who you shared this insane experience with and a ton of hilarious memories. For me, that made it completely worth it.

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