College is often cited as the place where people meet their significant other. The crowded nature of dorms allows many relationships to spark — though the living situation is not known for catering to romantic dates or situations.
Civil engineering sophomores Noah Kadlec and Amelia Cooper met in Wilson Hall, where they lived down the hall from each other.
“One day, we were all going to play volleyball, so we knocked on everybody's door in the hallway,” Kadlec said. “(Amelia and her roommate) were the only people to come out and play volleyball with us.”
Dorm romances are nothing new. Spartan alumni Sean and Regina Dunn met in McDonel Hall in the late 1980s.
“(Sean) and his roommate were going around in McDonel Hall, and they were coming around the doors claiming to be part of the welcoming committee for the dorm,” Regina Dunn said. "Ironically, both my roommate ended up dating my husband's roommate, and I ended up with him.”
Meeting in a dorm might be easy, but date options are often limited. The dining hall tends to be a more convenient meal location than restaurants off-campus.
Cooper and Kadlec say it's not all bad. They eat together at least once a day, and have a specific area they like to sit in — the back corner of Brody Dining Hall
For couples looking for an alternative to the cafeteria, some dorms offer community kitchens. Computer science sophomore Ryon Baldwin-Williams said the opportunity to cook with your partner can make for a fun date.
“It's like another way to spend time with your partner,” Williams said. “It's great just to kind of like find some time to cook with them and to get that alone time.”
After a dorm date, however, there's another obstacle: the size of an average MSU dorm room, which clocks in at about 12 feet by 15 feet.
Williams said before he moved into a dorm with his boyfriend last year, the dorms made it difficult to plan time with either his roommate or alone time with his partner.
“You have to manage your time with your partner but also with your dorm roommates and suite-mates,” Williams said. “So it's a lot of managing relationships.”
Despite the limitations of dating in dorms, Williams can take away many positives from the situation.
"It was also kind of unique, I guess,” Williams said. “Or enjoyable, because it forces you to kind of be more mindful of how much time you spend with your partner and sort of really figuring out exactly the best ways to kind of go forward with your relationship.”
