The Village (Rachael Gaul)

       Ever since the day I first began my JMU experience, I fell completely and utterly in love with the Village. Resting in the heart of campus and directly across from the Bookstore, the Village is a large community of dorms surrounded by beautiful trees, grass and other lovely scenery. The Village not only houses many freshman and sophomore students, but its large expanses of grass and numerous sitting areas provide a relaxing environment for students to enjoy. The Village also contains a basketball court and volleyball court available for use 24/7, as well as a space for grilling on the warm spring and summery days. I believe the Village is almost perfect the way it is, but I think it could possibly benefit by adding an extra volleyball court since the one already there has become so popular. The Village is probably one of the most environmentally friendly spaces on campus that is populated by many trees and other greenery. Also, none of the dorms have air-conditioning and many of them save energy by utilizing motion activated lights which turn off automatically.  Because I have lived in this space for two school years, I will always have very fond memories of spending much of my time enjoying the beauty and excitement of the Village. I cannot imagine living in any other dorm or laying outside on a bright sunny day anywhere else than this place and will always remember the Village as my favorite place at JMU.