True 'Love' endures a year in Hill House

and Molly Selzer With finals upon them and the first two semesters of their college careers all but over, the freshmen of Hill College House's Love suite took a look back on their experiences and reflected on their finals, the changes to the University's alcohol policy and the soon-to-be memories of a year gone by. En route to winning the Franklin Shield plaque -- an award given to the suite that earns the most points in a variety of house competitions -- the Love suite certainly found ways to bond under the new college house system. But the suite's graduate associate, second-year History graduate student Kyle Farley, nevertheless said he wasn't too happy when the well-deserved shield was stolen from its home. "Ha ha? very funny, can we have our shield back now?" Farley joked, addressing the unknown culprits. Fittingly, it's not all fun and games in the Love suite this week. Bring On the Cramming As the campus speeds into a studying frenzy during finals, at least one freshman won't be spending nights in Van Pelt Library. College freshman and Wilmington, Del., native Tom Housley has decided to focus his time elsewhere. "I personally have bigger things in my life [to worry about] to be perfectly honest," Housley said, citing bills he has to pay and the job he has to find. As classes become more selective with every incoming batch of freshmen, students like Housley, who are accustomed to breezing through their high school classes, have found that old habits are hard to break. Housley remembered how he and friends spent minimal time studying in high school. Now after his first year at Penn, he's found that his high school study habits are serving him well. "I really wish I was scared as hell [about finals]," he said. "But I'm just not scared. I didn't exactly work the hardest in high school and it's rubbed off in college." Despite his conspicuous absence from finals hot spots such as the Van Pelt and Fisher Fine Arts libraries, Housley still thinks he'll be able to maintain decent grades. So far, his tactics have pulled him through at least one semester with minimal stress. "I know I'll come out all right," he said. "It's nothing anyone here can't handle." A Dry Fling? However, not all suitemates are as lucky as Housley. Engineering freshman Hilary White said even the festivities of Penn's annual Spring Fling couldn't tear her away from two group projects in Systems 140. And though she sat at her desk and confessed, "I'm not really a drinker," she did express concern for suitemates and friends who were more affected by the University's recent changes to the alcohol policy. "What concerns me about the alcohol policy is that people will be hiding it more," White said. Growing up in the college town of Ann Arbor, Mich., stories of student binge drinking are not new to White. She said she has heard of several alcohol-related incidents this year at the University of Michigan, where her father is a professor. "I know people have made references to the prohibition in regards to the alcohol policy and that's what came to my mind," she said, citing dangers involved when students take risks without supervision and the restrictive atmosphere she's felt in recent weeks. Down the hall in Wharton freshman Mike O'Leary's room, a similar sentiment was aired. O'Leary, sweaty from a long bike ride to and from South Street -- where he'd been on an unsuccessful shoe-searching expedition -- expressed frustration with South Street retailers and University administrators alike. "I think the policy is pretty lame," he said. O'Leary also noted that even though his personal policy is generally not to drink, the crackdown on alcohol at parties has affected him nonetheless. He described the weekend prior to Fling as "the Twilight Zone," commenting that Locust Walk seemed eerie and deserted. Housley added that he was worried the policies would make students find more dangerous alternatives. "There's going to be big orgies all over campus," he quipped. Looking Back Through it all, the freshmen of the Love suite have remained close. White, who came to the hall early second semester, felt that despite her newcomer status, she was able to establish strong ties with her suitemates. "I'm really glad that I moved up here," White said after frowning about her previous semester that was plagued by "major roommate problems." And College freshman Adam Ockman said he couldn't have been more satisfied with his first-year living arrangements, crediting much of his happiness to the suite. "A lot of it is either this house or this suite -- it's been very welcoming and personal," Ockman said. Housley, who also found companionship in his hall and fraternity, looks back with a mix of relief at the close of a big year and excitement for what's still to come. "I definitely had a good time but I can't wait to go home," he said. "I'm going to sleep." As the time approaches for Housley to move out of the Love suite -- where every door still bears the red hearts and colorful remnants of Valentine's Day and the lounge is still lit by a loopy string of holiday lights that proclaims "love" -- he feels that while the year has been a challenge, he has reveled in the college experience. And the attached Farley summed up the Love suite's mentality by describing the warmth and genuine affection the suitemates have developed for one another. "I'm really addicted to my suite," he said. "By the end of the year, I don't really think of them as my students, but as my friends."

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