Decked with holiday finery and teeming with an array of visitors, the women’s dorm halls were bright and merry at the annual open house on Thursday, December 2.

Christmas lights in every imaginable variety were draped over windows and strung from ceilings. There were chips and salsa, fudge, and other munchies in some of the rooms, and hot drinks in the foyers. There was much music and laughter and some attempts at movie-watching in the midst of the hubbub. Admittedly, there wasn’t a great deal of studying going on.

Male students made up the bulk of the visitors, taking advantage of their one chance to see how the girls fix up their habitations or to hang out in the rooms of their female friends. But there were other guests as well; some teachers, community members, and assorted other friends made their way through the halls. “Open house is great,” says senior Joy-Anne Mitchell, “because you get to just hang out and have fun with people who don’t usually come to your room.”