There’s a gnome sitting in the corner, a knife sticking out of the door frame, huge homemade chocolate chip cookies made by Katherine Dean ’10, three gigantic sunflowers on the table, a tapestry of Buddha hanging on the wall and a photo of Jesus in the hall. This house definitely belongs to a college student. Or three.
Addy Najera ’10, Anna Friel ’10 and Dean met each other when they lived in Cleveland their first year at Grinnell and all three seem to fulfill certain roles in the house family. Dean was described by Friel as the mom, “but without the discipline.” Things “fall apart when Katherine’s not here,” Friel said. Najera describes herself as the crazy aunt, while giving Friel the title of “problem child.”
When asked to describe the house, Najera said, “Our burners don’t really match up with our knobs,” referring to their confusing stove which caused a glass pan to explode. Whether this was partially the chef’s fault was not admitted.
All who enter the house are offered lots of food, such as cookies and green frosting, and must pray to both Jesus and Buddha, who Najera described as “hot”. “Jesus, a Jew, and Buddha, an Indian. I am content,” she said.
The housemates value solidarity and they love to have sleepovers. When one person brings someone home, the others must all bring home someone as well, because, according to Najera, “Men usually come in threes.”
The girls also show their solidarity by watching out for each other’s safety. Friel insisted Dean not sit under the knife sticking out of the doorframe, asking, “Who would cook for us?”
The house got its name mysteriously. People just started calling it “The Psych Ward”. The girls also think that it’s because they can read minds, and have incorporated this theory into a house motto: “Psychic, not psycho.”
They plan on throwing a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest party on the Friday before Halloween Harris, and they always encourage visitors. Thanks to Dean, you’re sure to be fed, but it is not “guaranteed that you’ll make it out alive,” Friel said. “Or unviolated,” Najera added.
