senior thesis
It Will Always Be There
Core Group Roles
Many people believed RHP to be similar to a family because there were a variety of roles within the group. Brad was a charismatic leader, though he denies that role, attributing his leadership status to the central location of his room. But others considered him “genuine and sincere, an average kind of guy you just want to be around.” He had a sort of big brother role towards many people in the group, and earned the Chinese name Dah Guh (biggest brother). Raj was also a charismatic leader, though not to the same extent as Brad. Many people saw him in a protective sort of role, looking out for his “little sisters.”
A sense of stability was achieved by a several motherly roles within the group. Katrina, with her ever-positive attitude and calming presence, gave everyone someone to look up to. Caroline, her roommate, was more of a nurturing earth mother type. I held a somewhat motherly role, taking care of people, though it might have been closer the role of a weird bohemian aunt.
To balance the mothers were the children of the family. Misha was the baby of the family, by virtue of “being slightly more dysfunctional than everybody else.” Susan held the role of the unpredictable virtuoso little sister. Cassie, though not in the core group, often took a baby role. As the youngest in RHP, Abby was more of the rebellious teenager, wearing skimpy clothes and talking about sex and gossip a lot.
There were many other roles in the group. Erin and Owen comprised one of the stable relationships on which the group was built, but kept a lively atmosphere by never being too serious. Serena and Audrey were “like Sandra Dee,” very sweet, but not in child roles. Matt was the cynical politician; Nels was the drunk; Nate and Mark were the nerds; Swu and Caylon were the stoner poets; Andrea was the mad artist. Richard was a bit of an enigma, trying his hardest to be mysterious and still loveable.