For most first-year students, moving into college can lead to a multitude of emotions: sadness from leaving parents, nerves in anticipation of classes and meeting new people, and most commonly, giddiness at being on their own.
Independence comes with pros and cons, including having the freedom to decorate to individual taste without infringing on a roommate.
This year, many major news outlets have reported record levels of spending on dorm room decorations — from lavish dresser displays to extravagant couch set-ups. While University of Iowa students may not be spending thousands of dollars on their dorms, they are still working on redefining their personal space and turning their environment into somewhere they can love for the rest of the year.
Alongside their roommates, first-years are using their personal room decor in order to express themselves.
Tristan Brotherton, a first-year living in Rienow Hall, has posters and other art covering the walls of his room.
Both Brotherton and his roommate Julius Wiegand are able to express themselves, though they don’t always enjoy the same media. The posters in their room express fandom for bands, but each display belongs to a different roommate.
“I listen to Sublime and The Red Hot Chili Peppers,” Brotherton said, “Kings of Leon? I don’t listen to them [my roommate] Julius [Wiegand] does, though.”
Along with the music posters, framed album covers, and music-themed license plates, several flags were displayed throughout the room, just not in the traditional sense.
On one wall, above their cube shelf displaying several LEGO sets, boxes of snacks, and a TV paused on a joint Minecraft game, was an American flag with a picture of a dog in the middle. Across the room, above their Hawkeye-themed futon, hung a flag of the two main characters from the movie “Step Brothers.”
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Even though their room seemed very put-together, not much planning went into the decor.
“We came into it not knowing anything. I knew what I had, and we went shopping [to get some posters],” Brotherton said. “And we knew we were bringing the Xbox, but he didn’t buy the rug until the day before we moved into college. Then I told him I was getting the futon.”
Other decorators put in much more consideration. Lorelai Lewis, a first-year living in Slater Residence Hall, and Avery Hurt, a first-year living in Stanley Residence Hall, went in with a plan.
Both Lewis and her roommate agreed on much of the room arrangement, while Hurt and her roommates agreed on color schemes.
“We both knew we wanted the high captain, and we wanted the look of both the beds being against the wall,” Lewis said. “And we knew we wanted blue and white.”
Lewis and Hurt said they both drew a lot of inspiration from TikTok and Pinterest. For Lewis, TikTok helped with the layout of her desks, which stood back-to-back with small shelves from Amazon on the edge of each, acting as a barrier between the two.
Even in the sea of blue and white, Lewis was able to incorporate her own touch of Iowa City into her dorm decorations.
Above her bed, several prints hung in white frames. One of Kinnick Stadium, the Iowa City area code, and another, which read “go hawks” repeated several times in the photo.
As for Hurt, she took some inspiration from her older sister, who also attends the UI.
“She gave me a lot of stuff that she passed down … And she kind of told me, ‘these are the things that people tell you that you need and don’t need,’” Hurt said.
On the west side, both rooms still need to be worked on. Lewis claimed she still has some furniture pieces to add to her room, while Brotherton and his roommate still have to hang lights, pictures, and posters.
Most importantly, these first-years are already enjoying their time as Hawkeyes. While Hurt prefers the east side, Brotherton raves about his west side room.
“I love it over here. I love my dorm location — best location,” Brotherton said. “I get to walk, like, two minutes to get to Kinnick. I love my boys, and I love my RA.”