'Westside' Story
Heidy Chong
Issue date: 6/5/06 Section: Editorials
- Page 1 of 1
Boy, am I going to miss Schwab. It's my last chance to be in a dorm. If you ask other students at Stanford, they regard Schwab as the swankiest residential complex, with a parking lot filled with more BMWs than at the local dealership. So don't even complain about the purple carpet, sienna floors-that-never-look-clean, the bright walls, or the huge leather chair that takes up valuable real estate.
I don't complain, because all of these things remind me of how houses are designed in my hometown in Mexico. I know rent is expensive per square foot, but at least utilities are included-I can simmer my soups for as long as I want without worrying about the gas bill.
With its 200 single 20-somethings, Schwab is an interesting place to live. Yet, if in your housing survey you selected "sleep by midnight" or "can only sleep with absolute silence," then you got placed in the Westside. Here, I never see much action-groups congregating to chat, eat, or hang out. In fact, I still don't understand the dormant feel here. We have a nicer courtyard with a stone sphere and a reflecting pool, where apparently some classmates took a dip in pre-term. (Hey, there were no signs not to.)
It may be hard for the administration to believe, but maybe we're too focused and too busy with work. Contrary to what other B-schools think of us, we work hard. But as good California-style adopters, we appear like we don't.
Since the last party I set up back in September, we have not had any other parties in Ferguson Lounge. Oh that Fiesta Mexicana that started some of the animosity between students and the administration was thanks to yours truly. I take responsibility-our class needed to bond. So, what if many in our class have the affinity for dancing and karaoke, even if we're not great at them? All we wanted was to get to know each other better.
To quote a chick-flick, Just Like Heaven, alcohol is a "social lubricant." And we didn't want to socialize in Palo Alto; it's hard to find enough designated drivers and taxi cabs to transport us all.
I don't condemn nor encourage alcohol consumption, but bonding at parties actually makes up for the fact that some of us don't have families or SOs here to spend time with. So we bond together to share our common situation.
Because we live in a fancy wi-fi cage, partying may be our way of stepping out of our rooms, away from our laptops. And for the quiet Westsiders, it's our only chance to hear some noise. Before you move out, I invite you to take a minute to reflect by the pool/grill/favorite lounge/study room and say your last parting words to Schwab.
I don't complain, because all of these things remind me of how houses are designed in my hometown in Mexico. I know rent is expensive per square foot, but at least utilities are included-I can simmer my soups for as long as I want without worrying about the gas bill.
With its 200 single 20-somethings, Schwab is an interesting place to live. Yet, if in your housing survey you selected "sleep by midnight" or "can only sleep with absolute silence," then you got placed in the Westside. Here, I never see much action-groups congregating to chat, eat, or hang out. In fact, I still don't understand the dormant feel here. We have a nicer courtyard with a stone sphere and a reflecting pool, where apparently some classmates took a dip in pre-term. (Hey, there were no signs not to.)
It may be hard for the administration to believe, but maybe we're too focused and too busy with work. Contrary to what other B-schools think of us, we work hard. But as good California-style adopters, we appear like we don't.
Since the last party I set up back in September, we have not had any other parties in Ferguson Lounge. Oh that Fiesta Mexicana that started some of the animosity between students and the administration was thanks to yours truly. I take responsibility-our class needed to bond. So, what if many in our class have the affinity for dancing and karaoke, even if we're not great at them? All we wanted was to get to know each other better.
To quote a chick-flick, Just Like Heaven, alcohol is a "social lubricant." And we didn't want to socialize in Palo Alto; it's hard to find enough designated drivers and taxi cabs to transport us all.
I don't condemn nor encourage alcohol consumption, but bonding at parties actually makes up for the fact that some of us don't have families or SOs here to spend time with. So we bond together to share our common situation.
Because we live in a fancy wi-fi cage, partying may be our way of stepping out of our rooms, away from our laptops. And for the quiet Westsiders, it's our only chance to hear some noise. Before you move out, I invite you to take a minute to reflect by the pool/grill/favorite lounge/study room and say your last parting words to Schwab.