Hampden Sydney College - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hampden Sydney, VA)

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So having top-notch resi- dence halls is absolutely necessary if we are to keep on getting record numbers of qualified applicants. Having sub-standard dorms will only make matters worse by driv- ing away students who might otherwise come to the College. A second motive for reno- vating the dorms is upgrading the students' social life, explains Schill. We have dormitories that are in the process of becoming resi- dence halls, he said. Tradi- tionally 'dormitories' were places for people to sleep, period. 'Residence halls,' by contrast, are designed to meet broader objectives of college student housing. We are aim- ing to heighten the educational aspects of communal living by giving our men more opportunities for individual growth, by developing an interpersonal environment that demands responsible citi- zenship and concern while 1 985 KALEIDOSCOPE and by establishing guidelines that provide structure for compatible and cooperative community living. We want to recognize the needs of the total student in his living experience: his health, aes- thetic awareness, moral depth, intellectual eagerness, and interpersonal skills. There was a final irony in the move into Venable this fall: freshmen were not the only moving in. When stu- dents signed up for room assignments last spring, some had opted to take the chance that some of the rooms in the new residence halls would be completed this fall. They arrived at Hampden-Sydney to find out that they were going to be living in Venable instead. CHampden-Sydney trivia buffs recalled that much the same thing happened in 1775: students arrived for the opening of classes to find the main building unfinishedg the president allowed their par- ents to build cottages around the campus for them to live in instead.J Even the thought of a rebate of the difference in room rent-about S400- did not assuage the grum- blings of upperclassmen who thought they had seen Vena- ble for the last time. But just wait till we get the place fixed up, said Schill. They'll be fighting one another to get back in. fclockwise from topj Matt Eversmann listens to his first talk from his RA. President Bunting cmwerses with john Ca1'uso's parents being conducive to learning, M 0147-ice eCUa6'CS'l1man 5,44 v-'fag'

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renovations. Veteran alumni, who like jim Alexander '78 recall their days in Venable Cand Cush- ingj as a Spartan existence you hated every minute of, but wouldn't trade the memories of for the world, will ask why Venable even needs renovation. If it was good enough for their genera- tion, isn't it good enough for a new one? The answer, of course, is that even if the new students are as tough as their elders, Venable and Cushing are not. Both dorms celebrate their one-hundred-sixtieth birthday this year, Cushing was begim in 1824 as a replacement for all the college buildings of 1775-1803, and Venable as the home of Union Theologi- cal Seminary. Venable and Cushing have survived almost two hundred years-despite the fact that they were heated with fireplaces and open fires built by students, and that there was once gas lighting in OPENING them, and that teenaged men have never, even in golden ages, been easy on their sur- roundings, but the sheer tenacity with which they sur- vived is beginning to give out. There has never been any major renovation, and main- tainance on any scale grander than emergency consevation has been put'off too long, because, even if there had been extra funds to pay for it, there was no place to put the men who lived there. But now new residence halls are under construction, with rooms into which all the men in Venable-and later all the men in Cushing-can be moved to allow restoration of the historic buildings flike many other buildings at Hampden-Sydney, they are registered National Historic Landmarksj. The first order of business in the restoration of both dorms is to preserve both their architecture as well as their ethos-the almost per- sonal quality residents remember most about the place-while achieving such goals as fire-proofing Cespe- cially in staircasesj, re-wiring, boosting energy efficiency, and fhere the veterans will really groanj installing bathrooms on every floor. None of these buildings would even to come up to fire or building codes nowadays, said Todd Schill, associate dean of students, something has got to be done. But compliance with codes isnit the only reason for re- novating the residence halls, says Robert H. jones, dean of admissions. When prospec- tive students visit the campus, they are bowled over by how pretty it is, until they see Venable and Cushing, and then they think twice. They ask the men who live there how they stand it, and I don't think they really believe them when they say it's fun in its own way. The college-age population is steadily declin- ing nationwide, especially so in the areas from which we Pavems, faculty, administrators, and students draw most of our Students' mix on the lawn of Graham Hall.

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OPENING Out of the Qld... 145 Men Move into New Halls 1.1.14 This is excellent! These are Hampden-Sydney's? Which is my building? Nice Landscaping!! ...'bout time! These were a few of the comments echoing on the grounds of the new residence hall complex on November 3 as over IOO students bade farewell to Venable Hall and made the thousand-yard trek to the New Dorms falthough officially called Residence Halls , the new buildings are still popularly known as dorms J. The five new halls are part of a 55.5-million project that includes a faculty residence and an auditorium-student center, the Forum. Designed by Philip M. Chu of Chappa- qua, New York, and built by Venable Hall, circa I824 Frazier Construction of Alta Vista, Virginia, the new complex was supposed to be finished in August in time for the opening of school. Bad weather, delayed materials, and other problems, how' ever, plagued the project. i 1 1 F' HALL Bl 41:1 1 if MITURH gli: lu -.H y ' 1:1 II if ,P-lg Unloading Venable Venable Hall, built in 1824 and the second oldest four- story dorm in continuous use in America, second only to Cushing Hall, is expected to be renovated, but as of pub- lication, work had not yet begun because of a lack of funding. Student reaction to the dorms was generally favor- able. There was a consensus among the new residents that BSLG was very helpful in assisting in the move. Chip Smith '87 found BGLG more than helpful, they would bend over backwards to give you a hand. Dean Schill noted that students seemed to be overjoyed at just being there. Overall, there seems to be much satisfaction with the