Crothers Memorial Hall (or CroMem for short) is a coeducational graduate student dormitory, opened in 1955. Because of special provisions in the donor's will, housing priority is given to engineering students. Students in other graduate programs, however, may be assigned to this hall as well. Crothers Memorial Hall housed 126 graduate students in single-occupancy rooms from 1989 to 1998. During that time it was one of the top draws for single graduate students because of close proximity to the center of campus, reasonable size of its rooms, and the fact that it was the only graduate dorm other than Crothers Hall (which is for law students). A dorm allows graduate students to interact with their neighbors more than in apartments since bathrooms, study rooms, TV rooms, and halls are shared areas. Also, a dorm is a good place for students who want to save time by not cooking and cleaning, since they can eat at a campus dining facility or in town, and the halls, restrooms, and common areas are cleaned by university staff. Crothers Memorial Hall is located adjacent to Crothers Hall which is a similar, but houses mostly law students. Both are situated around a landscaped courtyard and share a basketball and volleyball court. CroMem contains common rooms for computing, quiet study, and social and recreational activities as well as a small communal kitchen that is available to a limited number of students who pay a kitchen deposit. Rooms are carpeted and furnished with beds, desks, closets, bookshelves, and a washbasin. Single-sex bathrooms with showers are located on each floor.
Resident life in CroMem tends to be more social than that of the graduate apartments since more community space overlaps with other residents. There are five Community Associates (CAs) who try to build a closely bound community of friendship and acceptance. Throughout the year many events are planned by the CA staff. The dorm, as a group, will have BBQ's, go to sporting events, get tickets to cultural performances (like the San Francisco opera and ballet), go out for lunch and a movie, go skiing at Tahoe, and have many a dessert party. In addition, CroMem has had a tradition of "Wednesday Cool Ray Flicks" every week. Ray was a resident many years ago and started this tradition to which he lent his name. In addition, before the movie, there is a study break at 9:00-9:30pm, which different groups of residents organize each week. All of these events are subsidized by house dues. For community minded individuals, CroMem offers a unique opportunity in graduate housing