Sleeping on a twin XL bed isn’t ideal, but anyone can make the best of it — or the worst of it.

We want to make the best of it. Living in a city as big as New York can be daunting, and as students ourselves, we know the importance of having a tiny slice of the city to call home. So we put together this issue to help Violets, Bobcats or whatever our mascot actually is find their next home.

We would’ve called it a Home Guide, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue as smoothly, does it?

As always, we begin with an introduction to all of the residence halls at NYU. This year, we wanted to add something extra for our incoming first-years, so we had WSN staff and other students speak about their experiences in each first-year dorm.

In this issue, we dive into the reality behind NYU‘s resident assistant job, the struggle to find housing accommodations and the pitfalls that students with dietary restrictions face at NYU’s dining halls. Huge shoutout to our writers — Voices Editor Aleksandra Goldberg and contributing writers Cat Howard and Aditi Sharma — for their amazing work on these articles.

Finally, we wanted to include feedback from students themselves. We asked students to share what they wish they had known before moving into NYU dorms, as well as the reasons they chose to either stay in NYU housing or move into an apartment after their first year. We thought this would give a comprehensive look into the reality of housing options here in the city.

Special thanks to everyone who helped us out with this issue, from those who filled out our plethora of Google forms, to those who contributed first-year dorm blurbs, to our wonderful management, multimedia and design teams. And, of course, thank you to our Under the Arch staff, who never cease to amaze us.

So here it is. Grab some popcorn or Cup Noodles, turn on your non-halogen lamp, get cozy in your squeaky twin XL and enjoy UTA’s 2022 Housing Guide.