Residence Halls on Millsaps Campus where I have Lived

AKA the Best Residence Halls on Campus

Hi! My name is Alyssa Navarre, I am entering my senior year at Millsaps College. I have lived on campus all three years prior and plan to continue to live on campus for the upcoming semester! I hope this gives you an insight on my perspective of living on campus. If you want specifics, floorplans, and history feel free to check out Millsaps website!

Millsaps has a few different options for housing options. There are two traditional dorms, Bacot and Ezzele, two suite style/quad residence halls, New South and Sanderson Hall, and the Triplets John, Charles, and Susanna, that are suite style/dual residence halls. I have only lived in two locations on campus which are Becky Bacot, and New South, but this fall I will be branching out to Susanna Hall!

Becky Bacot Hall- Men and Women, Traditional Double-Style Living

My first year I lived in Bacot. (pronounced bay-co) I lived on the third floor with another girl in my year. Initially, I despised the idea of living in a dorm with a c

ommunity bathroom. And while I will not do it again, I don’t think my college experience would have been the same without it.

I was able to make a lot of friends that I wouldn’t have made otherwise. Community living is somewhat of a taboo in today’s world, BUT there are a lot of opportunities for lasting friendships and networking in this environment that you wouldn’t otherwise have. If you’re willing to take the risk of sharing a bathroom, do it. It’s worth a shot as a first year.

I wasn’t big on dorm decorator, but the necessities for a room that you share with someone are definitely string lights and a bed pocket. This allows for the lights to be off but still have light so not to disturb your roommate. And the bed pocket is perfect for storing a phone, laptop, and other things you normally reach for while laying down for the evening or during a rainy day.

My Pros and Cons List:

● Pros

○ There is a courtyard with cute places to sit and study

○ It’s located right next to the gym AND all the academic buildings which allows for those extra 5 minutes of snoozing after your alarm goes off.

○ The bathrooms were recently renovated during my freshman year (2019-2020)

○ There is a TV and Piano in the Lobby

○ Free laundry on each floor is a huge plus for this dorm

● Cons:

○ The community bathroom (It’s a renovated, but it’s still a community bathroom)

○ If all your friends live on South Side (Bacot is North) they can’t park by your dorm

○ There is no elevator so move in-out is an ordeal

○ It’s old, still in good shape, but come on… popcorn ceilings are way outdated

New South Hall- First Year and Upper-Class Men and Women, Suite-Style Living

My second and third year at Millsaps I worked as a Resident Assistant in New South Hall. I managed a floor of upperclassmen the first year and the next my hallway became a freshman residence hall. I loved both years, each being able to learn new faces.

New South Hall has about every year/class level students residing here. I personally loved living in this hall and am slightly sad to be moving for my final semester. It’s one of the newer halls on campus and is the split point from North and South sides of campus. This hall has two different styles of rooms. Each suite has 4 people (two in each room and a shared bathroom for all 4), however, in the hallway rooms the residents on each side share a singular open room and the rooms in the atrium of the building have a living room and two bedrooms on each side of the restroom. By far the coolest rooms on campus in my opinion.

I lived in the hallway rooms both years I lived in this hall, however, I didn’t have a roommate, just a suitemate, so I was able to use all of the space.

My Pros and Cons List:

● Pros:

○ The BEST Study area. Also, my friends and I meet up here before going to events on campus or going to local restaurants!

○ Having one laundry room has its pros and cons. Pro, tons of washers. Con, first years usually don’t know how to do laundry in a community setting and the washers are on the first floor.

○ There are tons of study rooms/multipurpose rooms all over the building

○ The grassy area right outside is called Galloway Greens and is a great place to study when the weather is nice on a blanket.

○ There is an elevator!

○ Parking is right outside so you don’t have to walk far.

● Cons:

○ There are only outside staircases which can be inconvenient if you are like me and consistently forget your swipe card when visiting friends on other floors.

○ Sand volleyball court is out of commission, sorry guys, they really neglected that thing during the pandemic. However, I still used it LOL

○ The hallway rooms echo a great deal.

Susanna- Upper-Class Men and Women, Suite-Style Living

My final semester I will be living in one of the Triplets, Susanna. I am excited but I don’t have much information from a student perspective except that my friends say it’s so much quieter living with only upperclassmen. These buildings are also quite new with the first year of them being opened being 2009. These dorms are suite style but there are only two people per suite (one on each side of the shared bathroom).

Some of the things I am looking forward to as part of being in the Triplets are…

1. Having a full kitchen downstairs!
2. Living in an only upperclassmen dorm
3. Being right next to the on-campus mini-restaurant, Reubens
4. Having a great view of Galloway Greens!
5. Living in a newer dorm with features that are new/recently renovated!

I have loved living on campus and I couldn’t imagine I would have had the same college experience if I had lived someplace else!

If you want more information such as floor plans, more “technical” lists of features, and some history on the dorms check out Millsaps Website! Also, I took a few pictures from the website!

https://www.millsaps.edu/student-life/residence-halls/