Mr.
Webster has many definitions for the word community, ranging from “a group of
people living in the same locality and under the same government” to “a group
viewed as forming a distinct segment of society” to “an interacting population
of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common
location.” When consulting the
thesaurus, words such as neighborhood, society, and kinship show up as possible
alternatives.
As
far as Helser Carpenter, Helser Livingston, and Maple Friant are concerned,
they only meet one of these definitions – each floor is a group of people
living under the same [questionable] government control and in the same general
location. So technically, or at least
according to Webster, they are all communities, leaving nothing for me to
assess.
Barker,
however, fits all three of Webster’s definitions as well as every suggestion in
the thesaurus. The fact that we’re
co-ed; we have things posted on our bulletin boards, by our water fountains,
and bathroom stalls; we have countless traditions from WATER FIGHTS to Lawn
Chair Brigade to rivaling Harwood; we have t-shirt plans; and that we live in
the oldest residence hall on campus are all insignificant. They have nothing to do with our sense of
community. They may be our way to
DISPLAY our Barker Pride, but this floor is more than just a community, it’s a
FAMILY.
Show
me one other house on campus that has active members of both the
Atheist/Agnostic club and Salt Company and can peacefully co-exist with each
other on a regular basis. Name one
other house that looks forward to their house meetings, because they’re a
social event. Point out another house
that has open doors, both to their minds and their rooms. Lead me to another house where you don’t
have to lock your doors, because everyone recognizes everyone else in the
building, as well as knows their dog’s name, how many times they’ve switched
their majors, what their current (and previous) majors were, and who has the
most powerful Super Soaker.
Maple
Friant definitely does not hold any of these characteristics. Nor does Helser Carpenter. Helser Livingston comes closer to Barker
than any other house I’ve heard about on campus. Three female houses, giving the guys plenty of social
opportunities, surround the male house.
(And let’s get technical; it’s not really cohabitation if they’re not
sleeping…) They discuss the latest
issue of Playboy in the den. They eat
together, they study together, they party together, and they babysit each other
when things get out of hand.
Do I regret my actions on the 14th
of October? I regret getting
caught. I regret putting Adam in the
position I put him in. As a friend, I
shouldn’t have pinned him between me and his advisors. But do I feel guilty for possessing a glass
of water? As far as I’m concerned, 80%
of the natural world is water; I was just returning it from its oppressed state
within the sink to its natural environment in the atmosphere and the ground.
Barker House may often be “in violation
of the Iowa State University Student Disciplinary Regulations/Department of
Residents Terms and Conditions Hall Sports T&C policy.” We may not be the most “civilized” bunch of
18-22 year olds on or off campus. We may
be outspoken and come across as eccentric, childish, or even
irresponsible. Feel free to intervene,
as you deem necessary; you have a job to do.
However, as Wyatt Earp was told by his father, “Remember this,
all of you, nothing counts so much as blood. The rest are just strangers.”