It’s back to school and many fourth years are settling into their new off campus houses. With the hope of helping on campus folks orient to the off campus scene, The S&B’s Caryn McKechnie talked with some spokespeople from various homes. Here’s what she learned.
Our house is “The Sanctuary.” We have a lovely front stoop to watch the happenings of High Street. A rambunctious crew of international students and two Jews live and thrive here. Our house vibe would definitely be like open, chill, welcoming, for wholesome people and wholesome times. Stop by and say High.
-Artis, Erhaan, Jonah, Ayon, Sydney
Our house vibe is all fun femme safe space. It’s a bit trashy but in the most lovable way possible, my fave feature is the staircases in the front and in the back so u can do little circular laps around the house, and we plan to spend the majority of our time doing elaborate crafts. Pending house name: clit.r.us.
-Clara, Christine, Yufei, Olivia, Josie
Our landlady once disgruntedly said, “some students think this house is a dancehall!” and I thought that was funny so, “the dancehall would be my vote for a name.” Porch-chilling is just as much a house staple as raucous dancing is. Our essential message is we want students to know that despite strong upperclassperson presence, 1008 is all-inclusive: everyone is invited to be on our porch and our dance platforms — we really want everyone to come and feel at home. Stop on by if you’re on the block!
-Peter, Russ, Patrick, Emmet, Henry
We have decided to call our home the Corn Palace, in tribute to our rural location and the South Dakota monument. The monument was apparently underwhelming, however our house is not! Some unique features include the bat who welcomed us our first night in, and the sitting rooms accessible from the two upstairs bedrooms where tea will be served regularly.
-Maddie, Kathryn, Mimi, Clare, Olivia
Common dialogue in Polka Dot House: how many times have the neighbors seen me naked? We’ll get decorations up eventually. Is anyone here not named Emma? We need more food storage. Anyone have cold medicine? Elinor shut up. How do you take the trash out? I just wanna be naked.
-the Beastly Womyn’s Cross Country House
We’re basically a collective of five femmes of color. We are very much in tune with the spiritual and vivid past of our ancestors, so we really identify with our bruja (witch) and musical heritages. Our house is the colorful one on the block and every room has a personality of its own influenced by the roots/routes present in our lives, which serves as a space for each of us to center ourselves after an exhausting day in the prairie. This year we’re looking forward to behaving badly but taking good care of ourselves.
-Abdiel, Rita, Rodas, Annette, Jessica
Our home has been christened “Laughter House 5,” due to our joyful spirits, five residents and total ignorance of Vonnegut. Our beloved disco dungeon is known as “The Slaughterhouse” (don’t worry about it). Our general vibe is that we will kill all the flies and leave their smeared corpses as a warning. Fun fact: all Buzzfeed Tasty videos are filmed in our kitchen during the full moon.
-Irene, Maddi, Bea, Rachel, Helen
The Fairgrounds has been in the swim team for nearly 8 years now. Sometimes, when we clean we find photos from 2010, and other times we just find beer cans and die lol. “Burning down the Fairgrounds is the only way to clean it,” someone once said. Some main features are the attic, the street signs and decorations on the walls, and the parties that we always like to throw for people.
-the Fairgrounds Fam
We are the Treehouse. Our house is labyrinthine. You have to venture through the bathroom to find the staircase, and avoid the treacherous low-hanging ceiling (we’ve all banged our heads on it so far — solid house bonding, in all senses of the word). We also have a porch where you can find us drinking coffee in the morning (except for Callum, because “coffee tastes like poop”). We’re also a hug-heavy home. Come through for a warm bev and a hug.
-Sara, Callum, Vedika, Sally, Caryn
