Atmosphere of Jester Affecting Students Do you see moody students at the University of Texas walking around? They probably live in Jester, the largest public dormitory in the nation. Why the long face you ask? Well, the need for a high-density dorm caused the University of Texas to build a dormitory with the atmosphere of a prison. Jester’s resemblance to a prison affects the mood of students and the overall well-being of students. Waking up to loud, obnoxious banging and screaming are the mornings of an overcrowded prison.
Small windows allow for just a glimpse of the reality of the world. The built-in furniture adds to the uniformity that is present in all prisons. The width of the hallways prohibits much space between neighbors. All of these attributes plague prisons as well as Jester.
Beaufort H. Jester Center, built in 1969, is a co-educational residence hall that houses 2, 912 students in two towers referred to as Jester West and Jester East (Jester Center 1).
The large dormitory was built by William Clark Craig. The need for student housing was high because of the demand to want to attend the University of Texas. Since a prison holds a lot of people in a small area, it is not a mystery on how Jester obtains its prison-like appeal. The lack of lighting in Jester causes a melancholy type of mood which gives the impression of a dark, sullen area.
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The University of Texas campus does not have room to spare since it only consists of 40 acres. Little did the UT Board of Regents know the construction of Jester would eventually lead to an overcrowding and the largest enrollment in the country. As a result of the largest enrollment in the country, the sizes of the rooms of Jester are very similar to those of a prison. In an interview with Lindsey Jones, a resident of Jester, explains, “I can’t study in Jester. It feels like I am trapped. I like being able to move around.” The measurements of the Jester rooms compared to that of a prison cell are very similar.
A Jester room is 13’2″ x 16′ with built-in furniture (Jester Center 2).
A prison cell is about 14’x 14’6″ with built-in furniture (CAD drawings).
Below is a diagram of a Jester room: (Jester Center 2) The hallways in Jester are barely large enough for one person to walk through. James Baker, a resident of Jester, comments on the size of the hallways, “I have to turn and let a person go by, it is ridiculous.” The close quarters of Jester bring another issue into play, the meningococcal vaccine. The meningococcal vaccine is a vaccine for meningitis, which is the inflammation of the meninges and especially of the pi a mater and the arachnoid (Merriam-Webster OnLine).
I had never even heard of it until I came to live at Jester. The vaccine is said to help keep you healthy in a dorm of such high density. So in addition to the room and board fees, you must add $75 to the bill just to live there. A higher cost to live in a highly populated area is not very ethical.
Jester at a high price will definitely not attract future residents. People wanting to live in Jester can get a small model of it by watching a show on MTV called the Real World. It consists of a few strangers living in the same house. At first they are all friendly to each other, but as time wears on they become more and more aggravated toward one another.
One night during two-a-days for football, my neighbor decides to play his music very loud. The noise made the whole hallway angry and disgruntled. The exact situation happens in Jester, except in a larger proportion. The atmosphere of a prison does not help the situation at all. I believe it adds a lot more anguish to the attitude of a neighbor not liking his neighbor or even his roommate. According to a study by Barbara Allen-Hagen, overcrowding in prisons has caused juveniles to injure 6, 900 staff and 24, 200 other juveniles and more than 18, 600 incidents required emergency medical care (Allen-Hagen).
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Connor Moroney Mr. Heitz College Writing 6 May 2013 Life in the Prison System Prison is a place that nobody wants to be. Its a place which can hold anyone who has committed a crime no matter how serious. There are many different crimes that can land you in prison and unfortunately so many people have committed these crimes that our prisons are becoming overpopulated. These prisons all have ...
All in all, the atmosphere of Jester has caused the residents to be in a dreary mood, and to also feel crowded or even claustrophobic. A place to live in harmony and go to school has developed into a place to sleep and that is it. Jester is not the hot spot for the majority of the Texas student body. Overall the high-density population affects the atmosphere already, but even closer quarters of the architecture just make it even more unbearable. Jester might be the place to stay if you like running into people all the time, and I mean literally. Works Cited Jones, Lindsey.
Personal Interview. 4 Oct. 2001. Baker, James.
Personal Interview. 8 Oct. 2001. Division of Housing and Food Services.
Jester Center. 8 Oct. 2001 < web Drawings. Rinker Modular Systems. 9 Oct. 2001.
< web CADs. htm>Allen-Hagen, Barbara. “Conditions of Confinement: A Study to Evaluate Conditions in Juvenile Detention and Correctional Facilities.” Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse April 1993. < web Dictionary OnLine. Meningitis. 14 Oct.
2001 < web.
