Ouachita Baptist College - Ouachitonian Yearbook (Arkadelphia, AR)

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You are where you live The atmosphere of each dorm was decided by the personalities of its residents by Wendy McInvale T he walls are pulsating. Beyond the locked door a blood curdling scream echos in the hall and hys- terical laughter explodes in the dark- ness. Gruff yells can be then be heard and several doors slam. Is this a night- mare? Opening your eyes, you find yourself in a bare, unfamiliar room. In the bed next to yours a stranger stirs and wriggles and tries to sleep. This stranger is your roommate who will become your family away from home. The screams and laughter which previously disturbed your sleep are amusing because they are done by friends down the hall. When the pul- ) sating walls caused by a neighbor’s stereo actually aid sleep, you’ve made the transition to dorm life. Dorm life cannot be described by one word. Only after observing each dorm and its residents can the true per- sonality be seen because each dorm is so different. For example, Flippen- Perrin has an air of excitement which cannot be found anywhere else. This ' excitement is attributed to the viva- ciousness of its residents — freshman girls. In contrast to Flippen-Perrin’s personality is Francis Crawford dorm. The atmosphere upon entering Francis Crawford is more like that of a museum than a dorm. To find the true personality, each floor must be ob- served. Some halls are occupied by specific social clubs while others are unified by the personalities of the girls: living there. While some floors have traditional characteristics, some change with each class of occupants. The remaining women’s dor- EARLY MORN ING finds this student, a resident of Daniel men’s dorm, trying to get just a little more sleep in his bedrag- gled bed. mitories, O. C. Bailey and Cone- Bottoms, house fewer students but still retain distinct personalities. Possibly because of their size, these dorms tend to be more unified than Flippen-Perrin or Francis Crawford. O. C. Bailey houses mostly junior and senior women. Because of its good location, there is always a waiting list to move in. One drawback that keeps many upperclass girls in Francis Craw- ford is community facilities. However, the girls that do live in O. C. Bailey don’t seem to be inconvenienced. Cone-Bottoms also has a few incon- veniences because of its age. How- ever, this age gives the dorm tradition — one which lends itself to ghost stories. One favorite story is about an accident that happened many years ago. These tales do not take away from the hominess of the building, though, because the lobby looks like an Elizabethan period living room, with crystal chandeliers and all. The men’s dorms have as much per- sonality as the women’s, also as much variety. Daniel houses the freshmen on the first floor. Such pranks as throwing cans down. the hall and locking each other out of rooms are typical of the freshman residents. The other two floors in both the north and south ends of Daniel house a variety of upperclassmen. The third floor on the north end is occupied by the Red Shirts and the second floor on the south end houses the S’s. These active groups add to Daniel’s colorful atmosphere. Across the sidewalk from Daniel is Ernest Bailey. The east end, or the end closest to Daniel houses the football players. These residents have to obey the strictest of rules, those laid down by the coach. Because of their curfew and lights out time they miss out on some of the “fun” which goes on in the other men’s dorms. The west end of Ernest Bailey is pos- sibly the ‘‘deadest’’ men’s dorm and only the third floor has any visible per- sonality. This floor is dominated by the religion majors, who have elected floor officers and have weekly meetings. West dormitory, which is beside Er- nest Bailey and designed exactly the same, takes advantage of the short halls and community facilities using them as chances to get to know each other. Because these halls are short, everyone knows each other and most residents share the hall phone. The west end houses a number of basket- ball players. The remaining rooms are occupied by some baseball players and some S’s. Blake also houses a number of baseball players. It is the oldest men’s dorm and is lovingly referred to as “The Blake Hilton.”’ The men living in Blake have formed a family and call themselves ‘The Blake Brothers.”’ Unity such as this could only come from living in a building like Blake. The favorite male dorm, as the wait- ing list shows, is Conger. Most resi- dents are juniors and seniors who have been on the list since their sophomore year. Beta’s also fill a great many of the rooms. Conger has two advantages: its good location and the rooms. Instead of one room, the rooms in Conger are divided into a living space and a sleep- ing space. Wherever you choose to live or wherever you are placed, you can make your dorm room your home if you choose to. Getting to know the people that live near you can make the difference in your life at college. [a] AS HIS ROOMMATE Mike Rowe talks on the phone, Johnny Brannon flips through a magazine. AS A SUPPLEMENT to the meals offered by Walt, Lynn Duke snacks in her room. Dorm Feature 25

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