senior thesis
It Will Always Be There
The Setting: Life in Deans Halls
One of the requirements of the program is for RHPers to live in Deans Halls, the university’s most prestigious dorms. Only students receiving merit-based scholarships or participating in the honors-track Thematic Option program are allowed to live in Deans Halls. Unfortunately, with the prestige comes some of the smallest rooms on campus, as well as over twenty people sharing each bathroom, internet connections that work sporadically, and poor ventilation. Living in a community of scholars is supposed to make up for the discomfort, and Deans Hallers take it in stride. During midterm season, “I HATE T.O.” is plastered over every whiteboard. There is something comforting about living in a place where everyone shares the same academic frustrations.
While Marks Hall and Trojan Hall make up the Deans Halls community, there are several important differences. Marks is less than half the size of Trojan and its linear structure makes it possible to see the entire hallway in a single glance. The hallways are also wider. While both buildings have white cinderblock walls and stark, institutional lighting, the lights in Marks are brighter and more evenly spaced than those in Trojan. Where Trojan Hall has 109 cookie-cutter rooms, the rooms in Marks Hall vary in size, shape, and configuration. Probably the most important physical feature of all, the doors to the rooms in Trojan close and lock automatically; some effort must be made to keep them open. The doors to the rooms in Marks are the opposite; they remain open until some effort is made to close them.
These physical features of the environment gave shape to the social life in Deans Halls. Marks Hall was the obvious socializing place. Wider hallways and better lighting allow more people to congregate. A variety of room types leads people to explore other rooms in early-semester excitement. Open doors will always lead to conversations, especially in times of stress.
It is in this context that the RHP family began to form. Most RHPers were paired off as roommates, half in Marks Hall and half in Trojan Hall. Perhaps because of the environmental reasons I mentioned above, the geographic locus of the family was Marks Hall.