BY BRANDON METEVIER // DEC. 16, 2014 //

Bell Hall, Curry College’s newest residence hall, is more than just student housing. It’s a place to learn, to work together, to build community, and to attend class.

That’s right! Some students are able to go to class without having to leave their residence hall.

Bell Hall, which opened to students at the start of the fall 2014 semester, was built to connect living and learning. A classroom is located on the second floor, and it is equipped with desks, chairs, white boards, an overhead projector, and a full kitchen in the back of the room. The classroom also features fogged glass for privacy, and Dry-erase markers can be used on the glass to give students more space to write notes and study.

The main lobby of Bell Hall offers students ample inspiration. // PHOTO BY ROHMEE MATHE

Approximately 170 students live in Bell, including cohorts from the Science program and First-Year Honors.

Seven classes of all sorts take place in Bell Hall, including Introduction to Organic Chemistry, First-Year Seminar and First-Year Honors. Study areas and faculty office space are also available.

“It creates a great partnership with learning and living,” said Dan Cline, assistant director of residence life. It’s “great for group work and it saves the lounge for socializing.”

“Having class so close to students’ rooms,” he added, “it’s also a plus for students who can just roll out of bed, get changed and not even walk outside to go to class.”

One of the study lounges in the new Bell Hall. // PHOTO BY ROHMEE MATHE

Anthony Sciaudone, a first-year biology major who lives in Bell, agrees. “I like having a classroom in my dorm because it allows me to get an extra half-hour to hour of sleep, considering I only have to walk about 50 feet to go to class,” he said.

Sciaudone added that he liked having the quiet study lounges within the residence hall. “It’s a long walk to the library from my dorm, so I find it very convenient that there are multiple quiet places to study on my floor.”

Increased student demand for on-campus housing led Curry to invest in the new building, named after one of the college’s early chancellors, Alexander Graham Bell. It is the college’s 19^th building for student housing. Bell Hall features approximately 46,000 square feet, and has 96 rooms. The residence hall houses mostly sophomores, although some freshmen and juniors live there as well.