House of the Week: 8 Boyden

Although the residents of the separate floors of 8 Boyden did not really know each other prior to moving in, several of them are members of the same groups that make Holy Cross a better community. Johnny Greenglass, Alex Spanos, Joe MacDonald, and Stephen Hawkins are senior boys who live on the first floor and Molly Cook, Taylor Cormack, Kristyn Comei, Kate Donahue, and Jess Pritcherd are the senior girls who live on the third floor. They endearingly commented that the second floor houses an elementary school teacher who owns a cat named Snowball and a squawking parrot. Each floor went into the house as friends from previous years. Their individual characteristics which add to their stellar involvement on and off campus have recognized them as House of the Week.

Sitting on the first floor while Saturday Night Live's election episode played in the background, the members of the house talked about their experiences living off campus and realized they should get to know each other better considering they live a flight of stairs away from each other. Although they live same house,the two. The girls explained how they have kitchen table chairs painted in Disney movie themes that Taylor and her younger sister artistically decorated. Kristyn and Jess went for the more feminine, featuring Ariel and Cinderalla, while Taylor and Kate chose the charming princes of Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, and Molly has the Lion King. Having those kitchen chairs does not always mean there will be food on the table for financially challenged college students living off-campus, but a group activity upstairs is baking pies and the boys are now hoping to get in on that feast.

Downstairs is quite a different feel from the wholesomeness of the girls's dwelling. Alex wanted to point out that their floor is defined by the excessive beer theme, Kenny Chesney, 99 cent pizza specials (compliments of Johnny), and an extreme black light. Johnny is very proud of the black light and we took a couple minutes to put it together to feel the full effect. An interesting quality common to all the boys is that they all spent their junior year abroad. While Joe went for a semester to Turks and Caicos and Alex spent his time in Washington D.C., Johnny and Stephen both spent the year in Ireland. Living on Boyden is extremely different from living abroad and, since I commented on the smell when I walked in, Alex said, "We went from luxury to you coming in and saying we have a funky smell." He then explained it is a "residual adrenaline" concocted from some recent disagreements. Obviously boys living in such close proximity are going to have fights, but 8 Boyden has learned how to work out their problems.

More important than what goes on between roommates is the reality that the members of 8 Boyden are involved in organizations which have been seriously affected by Holy Cross's less than impressive reputation in the media lately. Taylor, Molly, and Kristyn are a part of the Senior Year Planning committee, planning such events as the Senior Ball and part of the off-campus group called Sader. Kristyn said, "We got involved after the riot on Caro Street because we wanted to see what people were thinking about the situation." Taylor explained how Sader had a meeting with the Worcester community and said that many people were complaining, but it is what goes along with living next to a college campus. The girls said that they feel safe living off-campus and Molly has coordinated an escort service with Public Safety that all students can call if they feel unsafe walking alone on or off campus. Joe is co-chair of the multi-cultural group Bishop Healy, and wants to remind everyone about their AIDS fundraiser the week after November break.

Most recently, the disturbing news of rape has been prominent on our campus, which has made Molly and Alex involved in spreading awareness in the Holy Cross community. Both Molly and Alex are a part of SGA, with Molly the Director of Health and Safety and Alex the Chief of Staff. It is in the hands of the student body to stand up against sexual predators and Sunday and Monday night they held events to make a change. On Sunday night over 200 students stood outside the chapel in silent solidarity against sexual assault and Monday night in Hogan students gathered to speak out against sexual assault. Molly and Alex stressed that awareness and programs discussing the issue of assault should be an ongoing forum, not just when something happens on campus. Alex is planning to organize an event titled "Sexual Assault is Faceless and Tasteless" where members of Holy Cross will wear masks to conceal their identity and stand against sexual violence.

Molly did an excellent job running the discussion on sexual assault and encourages all students to become involved in safety matters on campus because the student body has a powerful voice. Alex made an admirable comment at the forum about the reasons why students come to Holy Cross. He quoted our college mission statement, saying that we are supposed to be men and women for others and that as a community we need to be respectful of each other and get involved in matters that directly affect us as a student body.