Butt A and B: doors to tunnels open

An anonymous source informs us that the doors to the tunnels beneath Butt A and B are taped open. There's a blank wall on the Butt A side.

This information is provided for, um, educational purposes only.

A Friendly WesReminder

Columbia <3s their tunnels, too

Whether you carry a crowbar with you on a regular basis or if you just gaze longingly at locked doors-- If you're interested in urban exploration at all, check out Bwog's celebration of Columbia's tunnels here and here. Theirs don't seem to be as intricately graffitied as Wesleyan's infamous subterranean network, but tunnels are tunnels, and the allure remains the same. Bwog also sums up (very eloquently, might I add) the intricacies of student attachment to the tunnel systems, which could be why so many people flipped the fuck out when the Butts tunnels were repainted earlier this year. Dave Pesci, take note:

Subterranean in both the literal and figurative sense, the tunnels are the domain of a subversive and adventurous few--It takes a particular kind of person to want to go down here, and an even more particular kind of person to actually go down here. Tunneling therefore creates a sense of kinship with the past; an ironic sense of connection within a world that doesn't seem to be connected to anything.

For more reading on Wesleyan's tunnels, see here, here, and here. Also, not college related, but check out what looks to be a religious experience for any tunnel enthusiast: The giant tunnels under the Niagara Falls.

Finally, Another Chalker Masturbation Manifesto...

So there's like a shit ton of wespeaks in the Argus this week about chalking and activism and identity and revolution and disney lyrics. Great, I say. Who the fuck doesn't love the Argus full of Wespeaks?

And while if you asked me personally my opinion on the whole matter of chalking (hell, if you asked me my opinion on fucking toast), I'd talk your ear off, the one thing I'm homing in on in particular tonight is I guess the whole why we bother.

Mike Pernick '10 writes in his column this week:

Going out and spray painting in the tunnels is a great way to show that you care about your what's happening in your life. The campaign to bring back chalking is a wonderful expression of free speech within the Wesleyan community. Every day there are countless examples of people who are concerned about their environment. Yet few here at Wesleyan seem to truly care about the fate of our nation. Sure, many individuals spend time talking about how much they hate Bush and they despise Republican policies, yet what have they done about it? Ask yourself the key question, "What have I done to fight against dangerous conservative policies in America?"

And I think this is on the minds of many at Wesleyan who don't really understand where the chalking and the butt tunnels are fitting into this grand activist vision we all have for Wesleyan.

And to be fair, at first glance, it doesn't seem to fit. They seem like highly insular forms of resistance that have no bearing on the outside world whatsoever. And granted, a lot of the shit we do at Wesleyan is pretty much just angry masturbation because, well, Wesleyan is one of the toughest colleges in the country and god forbid we let off some steam now and then.

Regardless, the theme I'm hitting on is that a lot of chalkers here do not chalk just for the sake of chalking. They do not chalk simply for the experience of expressing themselves. Yes, as Bennet has said over and over again, we have tons of venues for expressing ourselves. But as I argued before, chalking is about building a community. It's about constructing a home for ourselves and a claiming some sense of communal identity.

Wesleyan as an institution does not really build social cohesion. We as a school do not have an institutional memory that binds us all together as Wesleyan students. We cannot all appropriate traditions and ideas from the school's past and really rally around them. And so when Wesleyan tries to take away some of the very few traditions that remain--say chalking or tunnel graffiti--it serves to again, alienate us and separate us into individualized factions that cannot build a socially cohesive campus.

And there are a ton of other factors that play into this (like GRS, the disperse locations of student housing, the lack of campus-wide events, fucking Facebook, iPods, cellphones etc, etc), so I'm not just saying that chalking is the only thing to get pissed off about here.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Wesleyan used to be known as an activist campus. It really doesn't carry that reputation anymore and I don't think it's because Wesleyan students are lazy. I don't think it's because they don't care. But I do think that it's because in order to build campus-wide support for any issue, you must first overcome the utterly insane degree of alienation that we experience every day as students.

I've heard this alienation described mostly as awkwardness (as if awkwardness is somehow a more palatable word for it). With few notable exceptions, I think students at Wesleyan feel extremely awkward breaking ranks with their comfort circle and engaging anyone for any reason--from hooking up, to dating, to friend-making, to petition writing, to eating dinner with strangers...whatever. I think you get my drift.

So in sum, I think by protecting chalking, we are taking a step in the right direction. We are creating a community and we are saying fuck the awkwardness. Who the hell needs it?

And you can do this without chalking. Make a new friend tomorrow. Talk to someone completely different. Stop pulling out your cellphone every fucking five minutes and finally look your classmates in the eye and smile when you pass them by.

But for Pete's sake, get out there and engage with the rest of this school.

Engagement is a form of activism, perhaps even the strongest. Perhaps it's not protesting against a war and it certainly won't end up in any newspaper, but I think part of what made Wesleyan so weird in the first place was a solid refusal on the part of the student body to accept alienation, to accept the awkwardness.

By allowing the administration to take shots at whatever institutions we have left to build this community, we are making it easier for them to push over the next generation of Wesleyan students. The more alienated we become, the harder it is to fight for old Wesleyan. We are being weakened and by perpetuating this sense of awkwardness we are complicit in the whole process.

Chalking won't fix the problem but I'm sure it'll help.

(I'd like to direct you all at this time to Zach Strassburger '06's awesome wespeak today about chalking and its effects on community.)

Creation, Destruction

Great inspiration for the Butt tunnels...Time lapse of artists in Japan collaborating in painting, designing, erasing, whitewashing, blackwashing, and repainting over and over again in a 1 week span. Amazing.

Tunnels

There is a general feeling of unrest on campus and the sense that the stasis may be ending. The paint on the tunnels wasn't even dry before tagging started back with a vengeance. The Keep Wesleyan Weird facebook group reached nearly 700 members within 24 hours of its creation (right now it's at 720--that's 25% of the student body). The very next day, news came via RAs that the administration would not be continuing its work in the tunnels because off the backlash.

And no one really knows why all this is happening now. The general sentiment is "Fight for ol' Wesleyan", but in a time when none of the undergraduates were here for chalking's heyday and when the past few years have been so quiet...We've all been such good little children.

There's a fear that the administration has taken the bait for the prestige game, the old anxiety about "mainstreaming", ten thousand buzzwords, etc., and while painting the Butts tunnels hasn't woken any sort of sleeping giant, it's set some strange gears into motion.

This is not a call to action for any righteous cause; No one is under the impression that they are starting a revolution. But the fact is that Wesleyan is not a Little Ivy, not a Little Three, not a Small Idyllic Liberal-Arts College In The Northeast. Wesleyan is Wesleyan, and as one tagger in the tunnels wrote, "There are decades under this."

Bennet is leaving, the university is in transition. We've gotta get serious about this shit.

!@#$

OH FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU.

They painted over the Butts tunnels!



WHAT THE FUCK, WESLEYAN. You know, I think the mainstreaming argument is mainly bullshit, I wasn't here for the chalking ban, I don't really care that you've been trying to shut down the frats for years now. But what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?! One of the things that attracts people to Wesleyan is its quirkiness, its culture, its "free spirit" of sorts. If we wanted a homogenized campus, we would've fucking gone to Williams and joined the equestrian team. Where else can you get this kind of education with this kind of atmosphere? Home rule by the students, if you will. And there you go, literally whitewashing it.

Who are you trying to please? And what the fuck are you trying to prove?!

You should bring tour groups into the tunnels, if anything. You assholes, you fucking assholes.

A-tunnelin' in the Butts

Check out this flickr set of photos from the Butts tunnels. (The pictures in this post are from the tunnels between Nic 5.5 and Westco)

Question: Where is this tree?


Answer:


Someone actually took the time to cover a small section of pipe in the CFA tunnels with butcher paper and tediously glue chunks of tree bark onto it. Apparently it's been there way for years and the bark has been progressively falling off.

College tunnel culture

Students at Southeast Missouri State University explore utility tunnels beneath campus. Students make video of said exploring and upload it to Youtube, complete with their names scrolling in the video credits. What could go wrong?

Graffiti

Since the recent Gay Soldiers: A Fetish Gone Too Far stencils seen around campus have provoked the wrath of Maria Cruz-Saco, how about a new kind of graffiti? Like...cleaning the grime off of shit?



NPR says:

A British street artist known as Moose creates graffiti by cleaning dirt from sidewalks and tunnels -- sometimes for money when the images are used as advertising. But some authorities call it vandalism.

Boo, authorities. Granted, Wes doesn't have that many places with that much caked-on crap, but I'd imagine that the technique could be utilized to interesting results in frat bathrooms.

Holly and Xue's Dorm Living FAQZ!

Q: How are the dorms furnished?
A: Depends on your dorm. All rooms have a bed, desk, a chair or two, and some sort of dresser/closet. Most, but not all, also have shelving, whether it's a separate bookcase or planks stapled to the wall.

What your room WON'T have: A garbage can. See the facebook group "They Took Our Trash Cans So Fauver Could Have Fucking Plasma TVs."

Q: "Are there floor plans I can look at?"
A: No.

Q: ...Er...So...where AM I living?
A: Well, Reslife decided to do it a little differently this year. See the e-mail they sent out to current students here.

Q: How do I get shit to stick to my walls?
A: Tack. Double-sided tape. Generally speaking, anything that doesn't ruin your posters won't stick to the cinderblock. The lucky fuckers in Fauver are again the exception, as they have drywall.

Q: How big are the freshman rooms?
A: Also depends....here are our personal sizing estimates:

• Clark: You will share a small room with another person.

• Fauver: You will share an even smaller room with another person.

• Butts: If you are lucky enough to have a single, you have the potential to be a wesleyan sex god. However, if you are in one of the triples they have recently created, god help you.

• Nics: Single? See butts single. Two-room double? Not too bad, either. One-room double? Ehhh...It's doable.
  

• Westco: You'll be too stoned to give a shit. (Or you can read Christine's comment at the bottom of this post to see what Westco rooms are really like.)
  

• 200 Church: An '08 student says: "Normal-ish in most all ways including size but the walls are so fucking thin you can hear people next door breathe. But geez, you can't beat the location."

Some kids will have pitifully small rooms; others could (and do) hold band practice in theirs. In the past some students have had doubles to themselves, though apparently since they're squeezing freshmen into triples this year, that appears unlikely. Though if you meet someone who has a double-sized single, it's totally okay to kick them in the face. They'll understand.

Q: Really?
A: No. You kick someone in the face and they'll throw you out of school.

Q: HOLY SHIT, THERE ARE JUNIORS IN MY DORM!
A: Don't be surprised if there are sophomores or even juniors living in your dorm/hall. It happens, this year especially because of a housing shortage. Be nice to them. Beg for food (they have all-points!). If anything, use them to go on liquor runs.

Q: How big are the beds?
A: Too big for your sheets and too small for imaginative sex.

Q: OMG I HATE MY ROOMMATE. Can I get rid of hir?
From here:

"A room freeze is in effect for the first two weeks of each semester. The third and fourth weeks of the semester are designated as a room-change period. Residents who wish to request a change in room assignment may do so during this time by obtaining a room-change form from any residential life staff member or from the Office of Residential Life. Students are required to follow the procedures outlined on the form to request the change."

Psst--Reslife can still switch you out after the room-change period, but only if you have a damn good reason. But no matter what, remember that you don't have to be best friends with your roommate, or even friends at all--Just be sure to communicate and 99% of conflicts can be resolved.

Q: ...'Hir?'
A: "Hir" and "ze" are gender-neutral pronouns used in place of "him/her" and "he/she", respectively. There are people on campus who prefer to be addressed using gender-neutral pronouns. They're also useful when you're unsure of a person's gender (i.e. referring to a previous poster on the ACB. Confused? Don't worry, it'll be explained during orientation.

Q: What's with the gender neutral bathrooms?
A: Simple: In most of the dorms, you pee with the other gender(s). You'll get used to it.

Q: What's this Network I keep hearing about?
A: See here.

Q: What are the fire hazard rules in my dorm? Will I get in trouble for bringing my psychadelic blacklight tapestries?! Fuck man!
A: You can read all about the fire code here. Fire inspections are performed once or twice a year, but they don't check every room, or even every dorm. Most people disregard the fire hazard policies entirely, but be careful--From someone who nearly burned down my room freshman year, the regulations are there for a reason, so be careful with your george foreman. And people *DO* get fined. Quite a bit.

Q: Can I paint my room?
A: Yes, if you think it's worth the risk. They've gotten stricter about room painting every year. Before, as long as you painted it back to white at the end of the year you could do whatever you wanted, but last year the RAs were told that inhabitants could be fined even if at any point during the year rooms were painted or otherwise defaced. And the fine is hefty--For a complete list of all the ridiculous shit you can be fined for, see here.

Q: My clothes smell funny. What should I do?
A: Febreeze.

Q: I tried that.
A: Ok, well, if you're going to whine about it, there are washing machines all over the place. No, they don't take quarters, so don't bother--They take Middletown Cash, which you put on your WesID card with a credit card.

Q: WesID card? Middletown Cash? Points? WTF?
A: Your WesID card is your lifeline. You'll get it during orientation. Do not lose it or it'll cost you money. You need it for food, mail, and to laugh at your ID photo when you're a senior. Points are the default meal plan monopoly money; Upperclassmen are on all-points, but frosh (and, starting this year, sophomores) have a set number of "meals" and then a handful of points. Middletown Cash is different from points. You can use them at certain restaurants in Middletown as well as for laundry, and they carry over from year to year (Points don't.)

Q: So where do I eat?
A: We had a guide to eating and drinking things at Wesleyan, but it's horribly outdated since Mocon is gone, the new campus center is opening and we're switching food service providers. Feel free to read it, but don't expect any of it to be accurate come next year.

Q: What's up with the new campus center?
A: To be honest, we don't know. For people who run a blog specifically about life at Wesleyan, we know shockingly little about it. But you can here us speculate here.

Q: How do I register my car?
A: Good question. Bring your insurance, registration, and $50 to the Office of Public Safety (on High Street). You will then get a sticker that you place in the rear window of your car designating that you have registered your car. On the sticker, it will indicate what year you are and thus the appropriate parking lot you should be in. All Freshmen must park their cars in the V-lot, next to the tennis courts on Vine Street.

Q: I don't have a car! What do I do???
A: To quote Droz from PCU (the movie everyone knows is based on Wesleyan and won't shut up about it): "Will you have a car? ... Someone on your hall will. Find them and make friends with them on the first day."

Q: HOW DO I GET HOME TO MOMMY AND DADDYZ?!
A: The most local airport is Bradley in Hartford. The most local train hub is Union Staton in New Haven. There is an Amtrak station in Meriden. How you get to and from these places will largely depend on how many people you know with a car and/or the shuttle services that Wesleyan offers during break periods.

Q: WHAT?! THAT'S IT?!
A: There was a ride board in the campus center, but who knows what it'll be like next year with the new building. You can always exploit student group listservs. There is also a facebook group dedicated to the same thing, and now you can facebook message and post marketplace ads.

Q: How far away is New York and/or Boston by car?
A: Shut up. You'll never go.

Q: No, seriously.
A: Ok, well, New York and Boston are about two hours away each. Hartford is about 30 minutes away and so is New Haven. Maybe, I'm just guessing. Like I said, you will probably not go to these places on a regular basis.

Q: Should I bring a bike?
A: Yes and No. Bikes are really useful to have around on campus, especially to get to Middletown, but chances are you won't need to go to Middletown often except for banking and maybe groceries (though the advent of the grocery section on amazon.com may change that forever). Also, since the campus is pretty small, a bicycle really isn't necessary. However, the Wesleyan Outing Club often sponsors bike rides throughout the area that are a lot of fun, and if you need to go from the Butts to the CFA in a hurry, a bike really comes in handy. However, make sure you bring a lock--While it doesn't have to be a super duper indestructable one, you still don't want to leave your bike unlocked for any length of time (Holly had her bike seat stolen her freshman year and has never forgiven the perpetrator, and Xue had an unlocked bike swiped from the front porch). As for bike safety; well...If I were a responsible human being I would tell you to bring a helmet and wear it always, but the truth is that most people on campus do not wear helmets. So, your call.
Wesleyan also has a student-run bike club, Legit, that fixes bikes for free or just the price of parts.

Q: What's in Middletown?
A: Quite a bit if you stop bitching about how it's not New York or Boston. Here's a nice list.

Q: Can I bring my dog/cat/bearded dragon?
A: No, sorry. Two years ago, Reslife overhauled the housing contract to exclude all incoming pets with the exception of fish. Before this institutional change, Wesleyan students were allowed to have small caged pets such as hamsters, iguanas, gerbils, etcetera, etcetera. Despite the efforts of some noble pet-owning warriors and a petition, only returning students may bring pets to school as part of a grandfather clause.

However, this does mean you can bring awesome FISH to Wesleyan.

Fish We Recommend:
- Barracuda
- Pirana
- Sharks
- Stingrays
- Candiru

Q: Where can I find liquid refreshment?
A: If you're smart enough to get into Wesleyan, you're smart enough to figure this out on your own within the first 48 hours of stepping onto campus.

Q: What about other...sorts of...err...
A: It will be offered to you. Don't worry. If they aren't offered to you, get cooler. See our guide to being cool (work in progress).

Q: I'm straight-edge/don't drink/smoke. Will I be left out?
A: Not at all! You'll be offered all kinds of things out of goodwill and the spirit of sharing. Just say no, repeat, and people will remember.

Q: What happens if I get sick?
A: First of all, get rid of that mindset and change that question to "What happens when I get sick," because it WILL happen. Sorry. The most common illnesses that go around campus are the common cold, the flu, and mono. Unfortunately, you'll just have to tough it out, though if you're really ill, it's worth it to e-mail your professors and usually they'll grant you an extension or understand if you skip class (Really! They're nice people!) Weshop sells an assortment of cold remedies, and if you go to health services, they'll give you a little cold-care pack of ibuprofen and cough drops.

Other rarer inflictions: You will sometimes hear people refer to "The Gastro". This is because there was practically a gastroenteritis epidemic two winters ago, a.k.a. the two-day shit-and-vomit extravaganza. Also, the foss hill dorms had somewhat of a bat problem, leading to a flurry of rabies vaccinations and the infamous Argus Weekly Bat Count.

The health center also offers gyno exams and tests for every STD imaginable, though you have to pay for those. They also offer Plan B and Orthotricyclen-Lo for ridiculously low subsidized prices. Medical emergency? Call P-safe and they'll send a nice officer to escort you to the Middlesex Hospital. Super-duper medical emergency? Call 911.

Estrella Lopez '07 adds: It's not a bad idea to bring some of the stuff mommy would give you if you were sick, because trekking to the health center when it is snowy and you are sick just to get some advil is not fun.

A thermometer might be a good investment, too. Tea, honey, and cough drops are also your friends.

Q: Do I have to pay for my own condoms?
A: NO! Weswell, an office on the second floor of Davison Health Center has an entire room of sexual health information, including a wide assortment of condoms, lubes and other items. You can visit it at any time the health center is open and pick up what you need. Please don't rely on your RA stocking the bathroom with condoms as the one big idiot on your hall will take them all and turn them into water balloons leaving you sexually stranded come Saturday night.

Q: My neighbor is hot. Should I...
A: NO! Hall booty is bad booty. You will hear this many times at Wesleyan throughout your career as a freshman. You will spend huge wads of time with the people on your hall for the first couple of months as you cling to each other for social warmth. This is all well and good and we all do it, but a warning:

DO NOT BY ANY MEANS SEX UP YOUR NEIGHBOR!

You share a bathroom with them. Your friends are their friends. You will see them in the hall every day. Every day. No exceptions. When you break up, you will see who they're bringing home on Friday nights. They will see who you're bringing home on Friday nights. They will see you not bringing anyone home on Friday night and playing the Sims alone in your underwear.

It's just not a good idea. I've seen hallcest end badly, very, very badly and it ruins the entire hall for everyone.

Now, I guess, Dormcest should be addressed. Dormcest is not the same thing as Hallcest. I'm just going to say that and drop it. Thanks. Ok, bye.

Q: Do I really have to attend everything in the packet that's required during orientation week?
A: You're in college. Nothing is mandatory anymore. That said, it's still highly recommended--The orientation staff has worked hard all summer putting these events together, they're fun, you'll meet people, and you might learn something in the process.

Q: How do I earn money?
A: If you're on financial aid, go here and look at the job postings. Not work/study? Go look at the job postings anyways. Most of the time they will still hire you; they just can't pay you as much. Science geek looking for a lab to call home? Find a faculty member that interests you, read a bit about their work, and then set up a meeting. Want some non-Wesleyan-affiliated monies? A lot of students sell their used textbooks on half.com or ebay.

Q: What are these mythical tunnels?
A: See here, here, and here.

Q: Is there Greek life on campus?
A: Yes? Sort of? See here.

Got questions? Get answers. E-mail us or leave a comment and we'll see what we can do.