Yeah, but could Zippy be comfortable in there?

I got to tag along with some Akron U students today as they became the guinea pigs for the new dorm rooms at the Quaker Hotel. Let's just stop right there .. these students now live in a hotel! Wow! (photo courtesy City of Akron)

If you've ever stayed at the Quaker, you know it has the cool round rooms with the neat audio effects when you're talking while standing right in the middle of the room. The Resident Assistants have nicknamed the center of the room as the "suite" spot. Very cute.

Some units are two-person rooms while others are trios. The RA's get their own. Ain't responsibility grand?

The University has locked down their porch doors so that the students can't get out on to those balconies you see when driving past the hotel. Probably a smart move considering a lot of freshman now call the Quaker home, and a lot of nervous parents don't want their 18-year-olds having access to an 8-story drop on May Day.

There's also plenty of common space in the hallways for students to gather, so the traditional college experience is still in play. What's nice is that the old silo walls are thick concrete .. so students in one dorm room can study in peace even when their neighbors are blaring the tunes. For you historians, you'll like knowing that the Quaker Oats decals are still visible on all the dorm room doors.

Several students told me they miss having a kitchen like they did in the old dorms, but fear not ... the ground floor restaurant, Trackside Grille, has been converted to offer buffets to students on meal plans and also serves food ala carte for cash. Hello? Room Service?

And get this .. while the hotel isn't quite on campus, the U of A is providing shuttles to take students back and forth to class. How's that for campus living!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh college. What was I thinking graduating and entering the real world?!?!?!