Sunday, February 24, 1957
Page Eight
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
I Live in a Dorm
An Intimate, Eye-Witness Account of Mass Living
By VERNON NAHRGANG doesn't stop at the sixth or eighth she leaves right away if I'm indis- six little staff assistants, Each But the food really isn't bad.
Daily staff Writer floors. either, but residents know posed. house (seven to the dorm) has its Honest.
LIVE in a dorm. their way around and visitors learn Then I hear her pushing her own bureaucracy. No one could possibly like every-
It's a tall, red brick-and-glass; quickccart down the hall, stoppin to The staft people work hard all thing there is to eat, anyway.
structure stretching its six arms j ypat the other doors. The cart has year long enforcing rules, keeping And after the meal one can al-
across a hill from Madison to I alwa 1 use the stairs, square wheels so it can be heard' order and counselling residents, ways retire to the house lounge
Monroe Streets (another way of from a good distance. then, near the end of the year they for an invigorating round of bridge
saying Fourth and Fifth Stiets AS FOR my room, it has a desk, When she does get into the pass out "staff evaluation" fotrs or a glance at the latest magazines
if you know your presidents). a chair, u chair, 'room, she makes the dust fly. a.king tot the resident ide. o and newspapers.
Bec'use the building is on a hill, a closet, a medicine cabinet, a Wihen she leaves, the dust settles. what the stafls job is. Therein les ansiher type the
there are seven floors at one end She cleans the washbowl and The housemother is aristocratic lounger.
and lts at the othur. The roof is extra). a bed, four walls, ,awindow, washes the mirror on the medicineand, at all times, proper, After
level drapes, and the prescribed number cabinet. She even folds the towels many years of living near male IIE HAS 0 much free time he
I live ot ha footth floor it tae of cubic feet of air. neatly on their rack so they look students she knows when not to be sits for hours trying to think
end cf tha bildit svhere il is the The room also has a maid who clean and new and I never have to outside her room and how to keep of ways to use it. He is adept it
third floor, or second floor if you comes at 9 a m. every Tuesday. change them. her eyes dead ahead. bull sessions.
call the street level the girund That's because I get up at 9:30 If you don't believe she cleans She encourages the presence Hear him there's always a fra-
floor, which it is not because the iam, well, ask her, She'll tell you. At women. but in the lounge and not ternity pledge who hasn't yet got-
ground floor is below it. If I get up at 8:30 a.a., shelength. the men's rooms.
If I Itsd on the foitth float in would come patting on the door, days uter e d H dtaveisrto This is the fellow who contin-
the other end of the dorm, it ould at8am.HRTE i tHEresident adviser is aristo-
tth t almakesbettoundstheho ct dr ,ally asks, "You're not going to
be the sixth floor She always pats the door softly ae e s 10 catic and, at all times, proper live here for four years, are you?"
But this is nev econfusit be- and unlocks it quietly because she's mother makes hers-to see He is also an artist, and his back Irs a
cause dorm residents know their a-d s the room stays cleanr oom that no one ever sees is really! with one eyebrow raised as if he
way around and sisitors use the See Picture on Page 1 By title shae is the as Oct e ad a garrett'.! se em t
elevators. -visor, but she doesn't fool anvon Hsan or a sex pervert.
eneur ge-te-pesnce0-
Of course, yu can t get to the afraid she miift wake me up or There's also a resident adviser. wHmencevestthepmen e rooms, This question, of course, is
fourth foot on an eevasor. It disturb me if she knocked. But an assistant resident adviser, and as long as he can come alon '' laughed off at once.
There is no reasoniag with some
OFTEN the inesaipable feelig people.
Fe But at the same time there is
of dorm residents is that the the house government, a group of
other members of the staff are students serious about dorm life
human. and convinced everyone else is
But they have to be able to get just as eager.
along with the 200-odd house This group organizes the house
residents who are invariably 200 and maintains an order of sorts.
odd persons. It tries to build "house spirit" and
One of the stand-out residents set up social and athletic activi-
because he doesn't stay around ties, which a few members seem
long-is the fraternity fellow, to want,
eager to rid himself of the stigma But no matter how far house
of living in a dorm as soon as he government or activities go, they
can. never please anyone except the
Quite often he is a very decent officers or committee chairmen
chap, but just when you get to who work them ott.
know him, he runs off to join the Anyway, there are two different
brothers at ATO, becomes an of- groups, the residents who guide
y ficer of the IFC, wins a seat on the house and the residents who
SOC-and never looks back, scheme to leave as soon as they
can,
His leaving produces two di- Both extremes are similar be-
vetgent groups of dorm residents, cause each knows where it is go-
those who know why they con- in
tinue to live there and those who Alh the rest of the students, who
don't.fit in between the extremes, just
live there.
THREE TIMES daily, twice for
most, these residents converge BESIDES, all dorm dwellers like
on that recent world scene, the to get back to the sanctuary
dining room. of their rooms whether they ad-
Waiting in line for meals, the imit it or not.
iresidents watch the dorm business The rooms are even more at-
manager watching them, tractive now that the dirty white
He started adinner-hour patrol . plaster walls are being patched
s ~for some reason last December and transformed into clear color-
~Aand shows no indication of Giving ed valls-different colors, too.
'it up. Then there's alrays the maid,
In the food line students join who comes patting on the door
in the "time-honored tradition of once weekly, and the house mother
griping about the food," knowing who comes along a few days later.
full well it is prepared attractively The people are interesting, and
and economically three times daily you never get bored seeing the
in the spotless kitchens of the same ones every year.
sprawling dorm. It's not so bad. Really.
SWEATE RS
CREWN ECKS
in both Imported Shetlands
and large ribbed
$ 119S
TICE et E E otlee or M/en
1107 SOUTH UNIVERSITY
Store Hours: 9 A.M. - 5 P.M.
...when expressed with a fine
0range Blossom diamond ring
717 No. Unitrsty - Near Hill Auditorium