Maybe it’s the community bathrooms. Maybe it’s the Winston Churchill quote painted on the wall. Maybe it’s the cadence runs. Maybe it’s the organ in the lobby, and maybe it’s the Thursday night Feast.
It was during my first week of school freshman year that I first began to experience the joys of Galloway and the men dwelling in that sacred place. They welcomed me into their dorm without any judgments or expectations of my being cool or funny. I saw that they did the same for anyone else who happened to visit. As my freshman year progressed, I realized that I had found a home in this lovely old red brick dorm along Galloway Drive.
There is something rare and attractive about an individual, regardless of gender, who reflects humility. Discovering a group of people who reflect a common humility is far more rare. Often, groups of people under the same name or within the same organization tend to get caught up with how “great” they are, resulting in shameless self-promotion that can only be described as prideful. From both my observations and personal experiences, however, I have found that Galloway does not follow this trend. Rather, many of these men aim for integrity, and in the process of doing so, aren’t concerned with showing themselves off to the rest of the world. Sure, they might not have the most epic Mock Rock dance, the craziest parties, or the hopes of making a documentary of their dorm to show off how special they are, but perhaps that’s why I think they’re great: They are who they are for the sake of themselves, not for the sake of those who are watching. They’re just a bunch of guys living in the same dorm, living their lives. They don’t find the need to make a big fuss about how cool they are. I think that’s cool.
I’ve had the pleasure of participating in several jam sessions with many of the men of Galloway. It’s simple: A couple guitars, a mandolin and a banjo, a violin, and perhaps a trumpet. These guys enjoy getting together to create something beautiful because they value the endeavor, not because they want to present it to the rest of the world. If you say that the men of Galloway are weird, I will say that yes, they are weird, but who isn’t? However, if you say they are just a bunch of misfits, I will tell you that you’re wrong. They are actually people with unique personalities who know how to have a good time, and don’t waste their energy on trying be the “coolest” or the most “legit” dorm, because it’s a pretty worthless endeavor.
So maybe it isn’t the community bathrooms. Maybe it isn’t the Winston Churchill quote painted on the wall. Maybe it isn’t the cadence runs, the organ in the lobby, or the Thursday night Feast. Maybe, it’s the mere existence of a group of guys at Hillsdale who just happen to live in the same building and aren’t concerned about being the coolest. Yet I do think they are a cool group of guys. Even though I do not spend much time in Galloway anymore, I do know that it is severely underrated and deserves some kind of recognition, which is why I wrote this article: Because they would never write it for themselves.
