Tolley/Brown gains style after renovation but loses character

Two years ago, almost to the day, I cracked open the door of Tolley 125, and began one of the most harrowing dorm experiences of my life. Dim and flickering florescent lights made the hallway feel more like a J.J. Abrams movie than a dorm. The bathrooms nauseated me on a good day, with various creatures inhabiting the showers and the décor nearly unchanged since 1968.

Harrowing scenes like this, however, will soon become the old timer's tales at Drew. The Tolley/ Brown that freshmen move into this year isn't the Tolley/Brown of the past.

A recent tour, which left my mouth ajar in amazement for a solid 15 minutes, showed that the halls of my freshman year are no more. Each room has new furniture-complete with chairs I can only describe as snazzy-the lighting doesn't conjure up images of B-horror movies. And the infamous T/B lounge looks more like Panera Bread than the decrepit and abandoned late-night study space I knew.

The upgrade I'm most envious about is the single-use bathrooms. "Gang-style" had over 30 girls sharing three johns and three showers, and morning scenes of half-awake, cranky girls fighting for mirror space were the norm. But these new bathrooms-finally designed by someone intelligent-are the frosting on the cake. The old slam-prone "fire doors" on either side of the sad kitchens are gone, and the large open space now fits enough of these bathrooms.

It is nothing like the eternally complained about Tolley/Brown of years past. It is shiny and new and convenient, and a part of me is bummed about it.

I remember my Residence Assitants telling us that Tolley/Brown had character, and that decent dorms of Welch/Holloway had nothing on our personality. That turned out to be the truth. It was like growing up on the rough side of town.

We bonded over our disgust and frustration. We dealt with the ancient showers and dysfunctional lounge. We made the best of it, and at the end of the year no one cared anymore. We lived in conditions the polar opposite from today's T/B. We learned to love Tolley/Brown despite its flaws.

I almost pity you freshmen-you don't have hardships to go through together, you don't have that kind of street cred that thousands of freshmen went through. It's become an equal-if not superior-to Welch/ Holloway. My stories of Tolley /Brown feel like war stories-don't get me started about the time a size 12 brown loafer flew through my window-and there's a special kind of bond battle-worn friends have. Also, when you eventually make your home in HERB circle, you appreciate it that much more.

Despite my old-timer stories about how "those freshmen don't know how good they've got it," I do appreciate the immense value of these renovations. They're spot-on and will be invaluable for raising Drew's dropping retention rate.

While I do appreciate my year in the murky halls of Tolley pit, these updates will push Drew into the rank where it should be. In addition to the updated Commons, the immense new dorm, and the Brothers College's face lift, the new and improved Tolley/Brown will be another step to putting Drew on the map.