Galloway
“We’re normally shirtless. It’s not a requirement. It’s strongly encouraged.”
Galloway Residence Head Resident Assistant Chris Pudenz described what he calls the dorm’s number one tradition.
“Every Thursday night at 10 p.m., we get as many guys as we can to come down to the Feast patio and eat hamburgers and hot dogs.”
Established over fifteen years ago, Feast kicks off and closes each school year, bringing the men of Galloway together every week in between.
“No girls allowed. That’s a rule,” Pudenz said, laughing. “It’s the no shirts thing combined with…it’s guy time.”
Even in the winter, upper-body attire is dissuaded, though special Feast apparel is common.
“I have a Hawaiian shirt that I’ve worn at Feast since my freshman year,” Pudenz says.
Despite the bleakest weather, he adds, Feast occurs without fail.
“It’s the tradition that always happens: rain, shine, snow, sleet, hail,” he said.
Another enduring Galloway tradition is the signing of Hillsdale’s honor code. Each freshman must sign his name under the code painted on a stairwell wall.
Other murals and quotes are scattered throughout Galloway. Above the doorway leading to the student union from the dorm, the words “gentlemen, scholars, heroes,” are carefully inscribed in black paint. This slogan has been a dorm theme since 2011.
“This is what makes Galloway Galloway,” Pudenz said.
During the school year’s opening activities, freshman must perform an act to represent each of those three words. It may be a game, but its purpose is to establish a precedent for what the men of Galloway aspire to be.
Simpson
Simpson dorm also sets patterns for the rest of the school year early on.
“Some of our strongest dorm traditions are on the first days,” Eric Walker, one of two Simpson Head RAs, says.
On the first night of the school year, residents of Simpson bond through a campus-wide game of capture the flag.
“That was my first experience of seeing how much energy a guys’ dorm can have,” Walker said.
Unlike annual events such as the PGA party and Simpson Asylum, some Simpson traditions are shared exclusively by residents.
Walker declined to explain how Simpson celebrates birthdays.
“Some people love it more than others,” he admits.
When the men of Simpson are bored, Walker said, a few standby traditions satiate their thirst for late-night antics.
During “bedtime patrol,” a pack of crazily dressed men marches into the bedrooms of sleeping residents to terrify them out of their slumber, or to slink subconsciously into their dreams.
“I don’t know anywhere that is better described by the word ‘shenanigans’ than Simpson,” Walker says.
With monikers like the Post Office, Wigwam, and Roadhouse, even Simpson dorm rooms take on a distinctive feel.
Residents also preserve tradition by passing on relics to their successors. One baseball bat dates back to when Director of Health and Wellness Brock Lutz was a head RA in Simpson. Other relics include chairs and boxes of costumes and wacky clothing. Residents even write wills, which delegate possessions to the next Simpsonite.
Niedfeldt
Although Niedfeldt has fluctuated between a men’s and women’s dorm, it has still managed to establish distinctly masculine traditions. On Saturday mornings, residents celebrate “Feed”feldt, in which they eat breakfast before watching some manly movie, Head RA Tim Force said.
Mrs. Niedfeldt herself is involved in the activity of the dorm.
“Every year, Mrs. Phyllis Niedfeldt provides a full dorm meal,” said Force. “The men of the dorm all dress up for this special meal, which ends with a full dorm picture. In the past, Mrs. Niedfeldt has shown up for the meal, but in recent years her health has been too poor to do so.”
Waterman
For the women of Waterman, tea strengthens the dorm just as well as a full meal. Every Tuesday evening, residents provide a pastry-filled, tea-laden study break to visitors. Anyone is welcome to partake in the nearly decade old tradition, but Waterman teas are particularly targeted toward freshman women as an opportunity for them to get to know upperclasswomen.
On the sage-colored walls of the living room where tea is held, Waterman recognizes the year’s residents with a group photo opposite individual shots of its fifteen women.
The Dow (Paul) House
The women of the Dow House have established their own tradition to provide freshman women with the opportunity to meet upperclasswomen. Residents have hosted pancake breakfasts for six years.
“We revived the tradition this semester and added to it by inviting one hall from Mac or Olds and one off-campus house of girls over at a time on Saturday mornings,” Head RA Emily Lehman said. “I usually give them a short tour of the house, which is really interesting since it dates from the 1800s, and then we have pancakes together and talk for a while.”
Olds and McIntyre
RAs at Olds and MacIntyre both expressed wishes to build more traditions for their freshmen dorms, but said it was difficult because of the completely new group of women each year.
After Macintyre’s recent renovations, the RAs are hoping to have more parties like September’s “Macwarming,” RA Taylor Hannel said.
Olds maintains an open door policy and hosts its annual Mocktail, but other traditions are still being established, Head RA Hannah Fleming said. She hopes to repeat community-building activities like last year’s speed dating, a women-only event to build friendships between residents.
Whitley
The women of Whitley foster community through competition with an annual door decorating contest.
“Every year we invite our residents to decorate their doors with some kind of Christmas theme, and then we invite Mrs. Arnn over to judge,” Head RA Grace Hertz said. “It’s a great way to exercise our creativity during the stressful end of the semester.”
Benzing
All dorm residents must suffer through mandatory meetings, but at Benzing, they don’t have to be painful. For two years now, the dorm has thrown a beginning-of-the-year birthday party for all residents, complete with cake and streamers, so the laying out of dorm rules is as painless as possible.
For Valentine’s Day the past two years, Benzing has hosted Real Love is More Than a Valentine, in which couples and single women alike discuss their experiences with romance and singleness.
