Quad dorm not 'Russia House,' high-ranking dorm officials say

With the fall of Soviet Communism, can the fall of the Quadrangle's "Commie House" be far behind? On campus, the Quad's Community House dormitory has long been referred to by the nickname "Commie House." But the collapse of the Soviet Union's government has led Community House residents to quip they are "the last vestige of Communism." Officials, however, say turmoil in the Soviet Union does not necessarily mean the house's nickname must become a part of history as well. Like a half dozen republics and a handful of Baltic states, Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone declared last week that Community House is quite independent from the Soviet Union. "Certainly Commie House has never had close ties -- or any ties -- to the Communist party, so I'm not sure they should change their name," Simeone said. This has never stopped residents from implying an association. In the past, residents have entitled the house newsletter the "Commie House Manifesto," dubbed the dorm council the "Politburo," and designed T-shirts with the likeness of Lenin and the Soviet Union's hammer-and-sickle emblem. Although Faculty Master Peter Conn claims no particular allegiance to the nickname "Commie House," the English professor said last week the name has never made him see red. "It's a student-run set of decisions," Conn said. Others were equally ambivalent over the moniker. "I guess that people have wondered, 'Geez, well, what happens to Commie House now?' " Assistant Dean Cheryl Groce said. "I don't know -- it's always been kind of a fun thing anyway, so I guess we'll roll with the punches and see what happens."

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