Author Archives: Ellen Shakespear

Hey 2015! If you’ve been spending your last days of summer freaking out in the shower caddy aisle of the Container Store or worried that you won’t be able to find the washing machines in your dorm, The Ink is here for you. In preparation for your arrival, we’ve compiled reviews of each of the six residential colleges to help give you a better sense of what to expect on the big move-in day.

So here it is: the first installment The Ink’s Residential College Review, in which we examine that much-maligned abode, Forbes College.

Most would argue that Forbes is at once the most hated and most beloved of the residential colleges. Depending on who you talk to, Forbes is either that sad, cinder-blocked building in a distant zip code or, alternatively, the best thing that ever happened to them.  For every mainland critic who argues that Forbes is socially removed from the main-campus scene, there are steadfast Forbesians who contend that their residential remoteness actually forges a more “close-knit community.” After two years of living in the 08540, it’s become clear to me that, polarized views aside, Forbes is what you make of it. Here are the facts—we’ll let you be the final judge.

The résumé:

Laundry: There are two laundry rooms, located on the lower levels of the Main Inn and in the Addition. A reasonable number of machines, but there’s often a wait at peak hours (i.e. never, ever attempt to launder on Sunday afternoons).

Kitchens: One kitchen in the Main Inn, one in the Addition. But beware—a tragedy of the commons-type situation developed this past year, which involved mountains of unwashed pots and pans, increasingly threatening e-mails from college administrators, and ultimately, a lock on the door.

Computers: There’s a cluster with about a dozen computers in the basement of the Main Inn. And one (cross-your-fingers, maybe, just maybe) functioning printer.