After touring campus on Monday night, judges from student government and the Student Activities Office picked Keenan and Lewis Halls as winner of this year's dorm holiday decorating contest.

"In general, we were very impressed. Everyone showed a lot of spirit," said one of the judges, Mariah Gidel. She and fellow judge Alison Lasseter are co-chairs of the programming division within the office of the student body president, which sponsored the contest.

Some impressive features of Keenan's decorations, according to Gidel, were vertical lights in the shape of a Christmas tree and Santa with his reindeer.

"They had the most creativity," said Gidel. "They showed a lot of effort."

Lewis, in addition to its decorations, also had a live nativity scene. Several dorm residents were in costume to act out the scene for the judges, while other residents sang Christmas carols.

"Lewis Hall was very creative and interactive with their presentation," said Ashley Kogel, another one of the judges.

Keenan and Lewis will each receive $100 for the dorms to spend as they wish, Gidel said.

In addition to the two winners, Old College also received an honorable mention from the judges.

"We thought it looked elegant, so we wanted to recognize them," said Gidel.

The contest is a chance for dorms to show both creativity and spirit, according to Gidel and Kogel.

"It's another way for the halls to express themselves and have competition other than through sports," said Kogel.

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