Vivacious lighting, eclectic décor and even a shrine to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar create what is called “The Domicile,” in Galloway Hall. Freshmen Fritz Nuffer and Chase Purdy began preparing their shared dorm room well before the beginning of the school year.
“‘Domicile’ is Latin for ‘House,’ but we’ve twisted it to mean a radically cool dorm room, located in the basement of Galloway,” Nuffer said.
Lengthy amounts of Christmas lights and lamps cover the room, as well as lavish fabrics and flags, fulfilling the room’s theme, “Minimalism is Dead.” Nuffer and Purdy have another underlying political theme to their room, half representing Purdy’s moderate liberalism and Nuffer’s moderate conservatism. Even the door to their room is halved, covered in a hodge-podge of political cartoons, pictures and fake flowers. The shrine to Julius Caesar involves the famous “Et tu, Brute?” printed on cardboard, set aside for dramatic emphasis. Nuffer and Purdy began designing their room during July.
“Chase and I were originally just talking over e-mail about how we would decorate our room. After that, things just started to build up, which culminated with our grand opening,” Nuffer said.
In addition to the 76-student grand opening, the roommates have hosted an 80s party, and have plans for many future theme parties.
“We started the Domicile to give new students on campus, like ourselves, an alternative to some of the traditional kind of parties you would find on a college campus,” Nuffer said.
Nuffer and Purdy gave prizes at the 80s party for best costume and best hardcore tattoo, and they have plans to give prizes for the ‘best break-up story’ at their upcoming Emo-music party. The roommates feel they are making an impact on the student body.
Freshman Craig Kreinbihl attended the first two events held at the Domicile, and he is impressed by the influence they have made with the students who have been in attendance.
“It was excellent to have these events during the first few weeks of school because they were a great way to meet new people soon after getting here,” Kreinbihl said.
Dean of Men Aaron Petersen approves of the Domicile, having left a lucky penny and his autograph for the residents. They have been making t-shirts bearing their logo as well. Students can bring a t-shirt and Nuffer and Purdy apply the designs the students want.
“I think we’ve got 20 [people] wearing shirts at this point, but other people are always asking for one,” Purdy said.
Besides providing students a way to get to know each other, the Domicile has also helped out the social scene on the first floor of Galloway. The Domicile is quickly becoming a fun, different kind of college community.
“Our hall on the first floor only has three rooms on it, and we didn’t want to have any less of an experience our first year of college because of that,” Purdy said. “Having an unusual place to hang out, listen and enjoy a wide variety of music and enjoy other people’s company has been great so far.”