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

Page 31 text:

A Touch of Class with a Lot of Personality Mother would never allow writing on the walls; she would not be ecstatic to see beer cans stacked pyramid-style on the shelf or weird scribblings and wild pictures plastered on bedroom doors. But then, mother wasn ' t around too much anymore and this room was no longer within her domain. She never needed lit- tle signs, posters, or name tags to indi- cate the identity or hint at the personality of the inhabitant anyhow. A dorm room, however, often occupied one miniscule corner in one long hall of a three-story dwelling, where loads of other unfamiliar faces resided within identically- constructed rooms. Lumped together like this, it was no surprise that students got the itch to add a bit of distinction to their limited personal territories. Door decorations often pro- vided excellent indications of the type of person behind that closed door — comic strip clippings, silly snapshots, political inclinations, religious proclamations, magazine-type mosaics, bumper stick- ers, personal jokes, and lively notes were prominently displayed all over the place. But door decors only hinted at what flourished within, and a wide range of personal styles flared up everywhere, en- hanced or otherwise affected by house- keeping habits. Lofts were definitely in vogue, adding a bit of college-style class and a lot more much-needed floor space between the cinder block walls. And though a few of the more refined and conservatively-furnished rooms would have pleased any traditionally-inclined mother, various items (picked up in sometimes obscure locations) added more character than style to many places — from delicate tapestries and finely-woven wall hangings to less than aesthetically pleasing but certainly more attention-grabbing objects like fire hyd- rants and signs. Not just little flimsy mementos slapped on bulletin boards, but those monstrous metal signs seized from road sides and bridges. Roommates Danny McCoig and Bob- by Spivey were prime examples of those who lent a little character to their rooms — wall scribblings, newspaper clippings, assorted applique ' s, beer cartons and cans, among a host of other items, inun- dated the territory. As McCoig put it, Well, the idea came out of the chaotic state of the room — we decided to pick up the mess and put it on the wall. Lots of it is residue from the Corner Delly, which was closed down as student housing last year. Perhaps some doors and walls reveal a little more than even mother knows. — J.B.B Door decors have a lot to say about the attitudes of the inhabitants. The Weird Get Weirder (which, incidentally, is the door to the Corner Delly room on the opposite page) and Jesus Is Lord exemplify the wide variety of messages conveyed. — Photos by Mark Beavers. Some rooms do attain (and maintain) that refined, immaculate look. This one, equippea with a loft, belongs to Bart Seitz of second floor Old Dominion. — Photo by John Berry Room Styles 27

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D)D©ftDDi]©i Dw© Dorm Decor A 30-year-olcl Ice cream parlor sign decorates the wall of Paul Freiling ' s room on the third floor of Pika It originally hung at a store he used to work at in Fredericksburg — Photo by Mark Beavers Weirder than Mishta, sicker than Sput, (as described by his fraternity brothers) Danny tVlcCoig sits among the residue in his second floor room of Sigma Chi Many of the items are remnants from the shut-down Corner Delly house — Photo by Mark Beavers 26 Room Styles

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Opening the door of the Project Plus house, resi- dent Ann Thurston returns fronn a jog Though mov- ing a Creative Arts house into the vacated building was discussed, no final plans had been made for the Botetourt unit — Photo by Warren Koontz. Founder and initiator of the Project Plus program, Dr Beyer saw the project end after several years of declining interest, — Photo by Mark Beavers Swamped with books, Bobby Johnson writes the rough draft of a geology paper in the Plus study lounge The wide tables in the Botetourt lounges were a big help when he had to spread out to work, — Photo by Warren Koontz 28 , ' Project Plus