New dorm features cutting-edge college living

New North Residence Hall opened its doors to students and faculty at the beginning of the fall semester. The new residence hall replaced the old McCowen Residence Hall with state-of-the-art facilities.    
The New North Hall houses 373 students and features multimedia seminar and meeting rooms, as well as 40 different study spaces. The dorm offers suite-style living with the option of either single or double bedrooms. Each suite will share a common living room, a bathroom with a separate shower and  individual closets. Private bathrooms are also available for 69 single rooms.
One of the new residents of New North Hall is associate professor of journalism and mass communication Dr. Lee Anne Peck. Peck is currently teaching classes in magazine writing, media ethics and public relations courses this semester.
Peck underwent an application process for the new Faculty in Residence Program that started this year. Out of the 18 applications Residence Life office received, only six were chosen to live in the Faculty Apartments.
“The New North Hall is great,” Peck said. “It’s brand new and so uptown, so to speak. I couldn’t be happier in my apartment. Most people are amazed at how nice it is.”   
Living right next to the game room on the first floor, Peck said she was a little worried about the noise level at first, but so far, so good.
“I leave my apartment door open most of the time, and students know when the door is open they can come in and visit,” Peck said.
Tyler Collinson, a sophomore history major, said the New North Hall is a hotel compared to Harrison Hall, which was where he used to live previously.
“It’s awesome,” Collinson said. “Being able to cook in our dorms is amazing.”
Collinson said he chose to live in the New North Hall because the living room sizes were much bigger than the size of his old dormitory.
Being her first semester at UNC, Lauren Weber, a freshman pre-journalism major, said she enjoys living in the New North Hall and feels lucky to live there.
“I actually really wanted to live in Turner,” Weber said. “But I’m glad I got put in New North.”
Weber said she expected a comfortable place to live and study, and is happy with the atmosphere at New North, so far.