Eastern Mennonite School - Shenandoah Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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Life in EMC's five dormitories has never been in- timate or homey. Look-alike rooms line look- alike halls and floor after floor repeats the exact same pattern of halls and doors, the college ex- pects every student who doesn't live at home to room in the dorm. Most make the best of the experience. Some even prefer dormitory living with its close proximity to the campus and its scores of possibilities for friendships. But for others, the omnipresence of the campus and the impersonal relationships that result from sheer numbers make dorm life frus- trating. A former resident of Northlawn recalls, I used to go out of my room and there was nothing but a long row of doors. It made me want to get away. Now I can come down here and feel like I'm leaving the campus behind. To the 53 girls and about seven cats who live in Martin house, Suter house, and Birchwood, the difference in scale is an important one. One Birchwood sophomore described the genius of small house living this way, I get to know peo- ple I normally wouldn't. Last year with 400 girls in one dorm I could choose who I wanted to get close to. I usually stuck to friends who were like myself. Here I don't have any choice. At first she and her friends were critical of the weird types who moved in but now one friend ob- serves, I kind of realized that people are more than just the crowds they run with. They're indi- viduals. 23