A common room is a shared space in a facility with a large number of residents. While residents may have their own sleeping and living quarters in such facilities, due to space constraints, these may not include areas for recreation or socializing. Residents can gather at their leisure in a shared space, which often includes amenities such as a television, a small library, and couches and chairs. Common rooms are found in places like college dorms, hostels, and medical facilities. In some universities, the term is also used to describe student organizations.
For hundreds of years, the word “common” has been used in English to refer to a shared space. Many British villages, for example, had town commons, central areas, or parks that were open to all residents. Some still exist in the twenty-first century, though they are not as common as they once were. One example is the famous Boston Common in Massachusetts, which is now a public park. A common room is similar in concept, in that it is open to all residents of a facility, as well as occasionally invited guests.
A common room in a college dorm is a good example of a facility with one. Dorm rooms are typically small and sparse, with only the most basic amenities and no space for relaxation or socializing. Outside visitors in individual rooms may be prohibited in some dormitories. In common rooms, students can watch TV, socialize, or even study. Bathrooms and kitchen areas will be included in some shared spaces, giving students an alternative to remaining cooped up in their rooms.
Hostels are simple lodgings for travelers, usually consisting of a dormitory structure with a common room. Similar areas can sometimes be found in or near hotel lobbies, though amenities are often limited and the areas aren’t always labeled as common rooms. Hospitals, military barracks, and even prisons may have common rooms; in these cases, residents are frequently forbidden from leaving the building, and the common room may be their only option for avoiding a cramped living space. Day rooms and meeting rooms are some of the other names for these areas.
The common room is the name for a student organization in English universities, as well as a few in America, Canada, and Australia. Aspects of day-to-day student life that do not fall under the educational curriculum are maintained by such groups. They’re frequently divided into junior, middle, and senior common rooms, though the names don’t always correspond to the academic levels. These organizations were given names based on the common rooms where they first met, and the names stuck even after the groups had grown beyond those initial meeting spaces.