What This Dad Loved About His Own Weird and Smelly Freshman Dorm

A dad offers his daughter advice about being a college student and living in a freshman dorm.

Dear Francie,

Now that you have moved into college, I can’t help but reminisce about my own freshman dorm  days–back in Ikenberry Hall, at James Madison University, in the fall of 1989. It’s tempting to tell you that life at “Ike” was all sunshine and light. But careful consideration leads to a somewhat different conclusion.

First off, “Ike” had all the amenities and design sensibilities of a minimu...