Rochester Institute of Technology - Techmila / Ramikin Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

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Dorm living produces few moder- ates. You either enjoy it, or hate it vehemently; usually there's no mid- dle ground. Those who hate the dorms, who are frustrated with the tiny rooms, the noise, the regulations, their roommatesj their advisors, are often looking for a way out. Their objec- tive is an apartmen t i n one of the big townhouse sprawls that now orbit the campus a few miles away. Traditionally, dorm dwellers liked the conveniences of a close location to the campus and of not having to worry about those things that bug the apartment tenant: buying food, washing dishes, and commuting on the broken, narrow, and so- crowded - at - rush - h ou r - you - h ard ly- can-move roads. But this year, in the new residence hall complex at the east end of the campus something new had occurred: for first time, the halls began to organize themselves. 18

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In halls like House ID (renamed Hefner Hall}, where the accompany- ing photographs were taken, a com- munity spirit has grown up since September. It is similar to the cama- raderie that the fraternities used to have a near monoply of before RIT moved. House LD members orga- nized their own social events, par- ticipated in several campus and city service-oriented activities, and won a special spirit trophy this year for their support of the Tiger teams dur- ing fall and winter. For once, it seemed to most of them, living in the residence hails meant something. This year House LD and several other halls were ex- perimenting to determine whether anything could reduce the aliena- tion that is so pervasive in modern colleges, and give students some- thing more than just a desk and a bed in a small room, in the middle of a huge building. £3 19