Farley boasts history of cherry bombs and smokers
Katie Sanders
Farley Hall Resident
Nine out of 10 Notre Dame students associate the word "smokers" with Farley Hall, located on North Quad, next to the North Dining Hall.
"I think this is an odd stereotype to develop," says Farley resident Amanda Baker. "I have smoked before, once or twice. Okay, it was more like four or five. Well, I guess I smoke occasionally. Only about one cigarette a day, except for when I'm stressed, then it's a few more. But I would not call myself a `smoker.'"
Other Farley residents echo this fear of being typecast. "It's not as if every person in this dorm smokes," says sophomore Susan Wisler. "One girl in my section doesn't."
Hall co-president Jenny Geraci notes that the little front porch sheltering nicotine addicts is not the only remarkable thing about Farley Hall.
"We are a close dorm with many great activities and a rich history," she says.
Farley Hall, after its opening in 1942, housed 200 freshmen men. In the pre-mod quad days, it was thought to be almost off-campus. The male residents were not known as smokers, but instead got the reputation for having the healthiest legs on campus because of the long walk to South Dining Hall, a full 965 steps by one resident's count.
Father Theodore Hesburgh, among various other accomplishments, was the first rector of Farley. At the time, Father Hesburgh divided his time between writing a book, teaching four classes, heading the Theology department and taming the freshmen men — the last perhaps the most daunting of the tasks. This year at a Farley Mass, Father Hesburgh related the story of a hall conflict from the early days. Some unknown perpetrator set off a cherry bomb in the stairwell. Father Hesburgh gathered all of the boys in the hall together for a meeting, explained his intolerance for this type of behavior and pulled out his own supply of cherry bombs, a rather large box. He threatened to set off one cherry bomb every hour on the hour until the guilty party came forward. It seems that the Farley men valued their sleep because the cherry bomb problem promptly ended.
No cherry bomb problems have plagued the current rector, Sister Carrine Etheridge, but she spends her time keeping the women busy. Like most dorms on campus, Farley can boast a number of interhall sports teams, Sunday and weekly Masses and various service activities. Besides the smoker stereotype, the rest of campus knows Farley best for Pop Farley Week. This week, named in honor of Reverend Farley, consists of Mass and activities, culminating in a very elaborately decorated dance on Saturday. The decorating is a contest that the sections take very seriously, most section members staying in on Friday night to help.
Farley residents feel very centrally located on campus, with short walks to LaFortune, the library, Rolfs and the North Dining Hall (although on nice days many girls still make the 965 step trek to South for the arguably better food).
Although Farley residents may or may not fit the smoker stereotype, the majority of girls are ready to praise their residence hall. Perhaps their love grows from the little porch where they can find smoking camaraderie, but more likely, they love Farley for one of the other aforementioned reasons.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Scene Stories for Monday, March 6, 2000
