Talking Stick - September/October 2014 - 21

has a very strong military presence
with the Corps of Cadets," says Gennie
Lynn, coordinator of residence life.
The Corps members live in residence
halls, and the rest of the university's
housing is divided into two general
sections: the Northside and the
Southside. Though the two sides are
located on the same campus, "They
each have their own identity," Lynn
notes. Differing identities beget
contrasting traditions, especially
since there is such a wide variety of
residence halls, ranging from those
that are 105 years old to those that are
just two years old. Some are larger

Bands, which features live music and
crawfish," Lynn says. Another set of
residence halls host a Mod Quad BBQ,
which involves games, great food, and
lots of fun.
Modern traditions at Texas A&M
still maintain the connection to their
past. Residents of Walton Hall and
Leggett Hall often come together for
events, despite one being a male hall
and the other a female hall. Lynn says
that these are two of the oldest halls
on campus but also "some of the
most actively involved." In one ritual,
residents of the two halls can, as Lynn
describes it, be found "sitting together

on building relationships between
students and faculty outside of the
classroom. The program, set to kick
off at the beginning of fall semester,
coincides with the university's
relatively new Knight Ceremony
tradition. Michelle Madsen, residential
community director, says that the
tradition began about three years
ago as an extension of the folklore
surrounding an elephant emblem
above the entrance to the Snider
side of Virginia-Snider residence
hall. "There are stories about the
elephant ghost and how you can hear
it walking around. Fun stuff like

the new tradItIOn IS Intended tO brIng a faculty member tO lIght, aS
well aS tO buIld a brIdge fOr StudentS tO "See that faculty memberS
are PeOPle tOO," madSen SayS.

than others, some offer suite-style
accommodations, and others are
traditional residence halls.
Hart Hall is part of Southside,
also called "the suburbs" because of
its newer halls. Hart Hall has many
different traditions, ranging from
"playing sand volleyball in their own
court to playing 42 (dominos) in the
pit," Lynn says. Most important, they
are famous for the biannual Hart Hall
Java. "This is a talent show of sorts for
which the residents tend to dress in
costume and perform skits. It is very
popular, and as the location of the hall
is centralized, it is very well known."
Three other residence halls - Fowler
Hall, Hughes Hall, and Keathley
Hall (all, like Hart Hall, named after
members of the military) - are home
to multiple campus-wide traditions.
In the fall, "They host the Highland
Games, and in the spring, Boil of the

at Sbisa Dining Hall for 'Dorm'
Dinner, and yes, it's the 'D word.' Due
to the military background and the
Corps of Cadets dorms, the 'D word' is
a widely accepted term on campus."
Although traditions in the
residence hall at Texas A&M have
been annual and longstanding, other
colleges and universities create new
traditions as a way for students and
faculty alike to immerse themselves
in residential life. If an institution
doesn't have a tradition deeply rooted
in their history but wants to create
one or wants to add more traditions
as a means to promote student and
faculty involvement, all it requires is a
way to encompass a group of people,
a bit of advertising, and a passion for
residential life.
Southern Methodist University,
in Dallas, Texas, is transitioning from
a strong focus on academics to one

that," says Madsen. The residential
community wanted to recognize
faculty and introduce the students to
live-in faculty members, so in the fall
of 2011 they decided "to come up with
a fun event that would grab residents'
attention and help them get to know
and understand who the faculty-inresidence was," Madsen explains.
Geared mainly for first-year students,
the knighting ceremony is called The
Order of the Elephants because "there
are fun stories about why the elephant
is above the door, one of them being
that the Snider has a passion for
elephants."
The light-hearted event is
"generally one of the best attended
programs," Madsen says. RAs dress
up in medieval regalia and encourage
students to enter as they pass by the
library-lounge area on the first floor
of the hall. Madsen says that students
September + OctOber 2014

21
Talking Stick - September/October 2014

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