College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

Page 27 text:

ll D C !- mnlun rum' MJIIMH 'E' if-Q f. 3g..:'X5'f K ?' Aff' Ado' L4- 'mls 5 J TN, 11 My '-1-up 557, -x Kr , .s n lp. --Q W .Q- . . fi, M 4 'Q -. 1 . ' if!! iii! ,I 1 ' t , n X 1 YW! '41

Page 26 text:

RIGHT: The German House Oktoberfest wel- comes autumn with an exuberant mixture of song, dance and beer. BELOW: Life in a small house means that Italian House inhabitants form fast and friendly relationships. vlvE LA DIFFERENCE! mong the variety of life- styles William and Mary offered students was a wide ar- ray of special interest housing. Such residences gave students a unique opportunity to pursue an interest in a foreign language and culture in an informal man- ner which was found to be more informative than sitting in a stuffy room in Washington Hall fighting sleep by watching the cockroaches. The German, French, and Span- ish Houses occupied adjoining units in Botetourt Complex and offered similar programs of weekly conversation hours, for- eign meals, lectures, and films. German House residents found their Marchenstunde, or fairy tale hour, to be especially en- tertaining. Stammtisch Cgoing to the Cave and speaking Germanl provided many a resident with a welcome break from studies. The advent of holidays and the change in seasons were party occasions. Special foods and traditions 29fSpecial Interest Housing made Yuletide one of the bright- est times of the year and spring was greeted with the annual Botetourt May Day celebration. Perhaps the most active of the interest houses was the Asia House. Faced in the past with lukewarm support by the college community, the house organized more activities than ever this year and strove to increase in- terest and attendance of pro- grams. Swami Agehananda Bha- rati, a master of 16 languages and a Hindu monk, entranced his audience with tales of his years in an Indian monastery and his views on Hindu mysticism. The final interest house located on New Campus was Project Plus. Plus housed over 80 individuals, all interested in pursuing some aspect of this year's theme of Creativity. The Italian and Russian Studies Houses located on Jamestown Road were the new- est additions to the College's range of special interest hous- ing. An asti spumanti recep- tion in honor of Columbus Day added sparkle to the Casa Italiana's fall program of events. The Russian House brought to campus both the Yale Russian Chorus and an entertaining lecturer from ODU who spoke concerning Soviet satire, proving that the Russians really do have a sense of humor. Many students mistakenly be- lieved that life in a special interest house meant living with bookish individuals and yawning through foreign films. Yet these houses offered some of the most stimulating pro- grams on campus and gave their members more advantages than most realized. When asked why he decided to live in the Russian House, one guy answered with a twinkle in his eye, Well, it's because I like the people. You see, there's my roommate and me . . and eight girls.

Page 28 text:

RIGHT: To dance without losing one's attire is a challenge for Linda Lynch and Nancy Conlon at a Hunt-JBT toga party. BELOW: A new album offers Bruce Jones a brief but welcome respite from studies. NlAKlNG erhaps one of the major skills acquired at William and Mary during four hectic years was the fine art of liv- ing with a hodge-podge of people in unique situations and learning to like it, no matter what the circumstances. At first glance, William and Mary's on-campus housing seemed to consist of the sardine structures found on campuses across the nation. In reality, the W 8z M stu- dent had considerable freedom in choosing his own lifestyle, for housing options included special interest housing, coed dorms, single rooms, doubles, apartment living and Greek housing. With the renovation of Chandler and Taliaferro complete, students had access to all dorms on campus for the first time in years. Upper- classmen flocked to the spanking-new Chandler and the perennially popular lodges. The concept of mixed dormsn combining freshmen and upper- 24fD0rm Life classmen together in one structure was successfully effected in Barrett and Jefferson. Bryan Complex remained coed, and the Terrace received its first female in- habitants, though limited to only those enrolled in the graduate schools. While a few students were forced to apart- ment-hunt, most who desired on- campus housing were satisfact- orily placed in a much more smoothly-engineered room se- lection process than seen in past years. Students rose to the chal- lenge of stamping individual- ity on their four walls with flourish and enthusiasm. Posters, plants and stereo speakers went up in a flash to hide peeling paint and ancient plaster in the not- so-new dorms. In Landrum, a set of four suitemates agreed to place their four beds in one room of the suite, leaving the other for a livingfdining area. IT LIKE HO E Immaculate or chaotic, the dorm room became home for William and Mary students. To add to the feeling of home and involvement in community living, the staff of Residence Hall Life cre- ated programs tailored to suit every need. In ad- dition to dorm parties, there were area-wide pro- jects like JBT's Oct- Terrace-Fest, Jamestown Road's One-More-for-the- Road and the Bryan Complex Heart Dance. Speakers on security, career planning, and income tax forms made study breaks more than just munch-outs. They became infor mative as well. Whether listening to live music on Barrett's porch or sharing popcorn with the gang across the hall, dorm living provided an exciting means for discovering new people, new ideas, and a broader sense of self for those in the William and Mary community.