As I’m sure many of our readers know, Goucher College used to be slightly different than what it is now. This is before the First-Year Village and Mary Fisher Dining Hall. Gosh, this goes back to when Pearlstone existed. For all first-years, Pearlstone was the equivalent of the student market but with different food and different vibes. So, as we are coming to a close for this 2019 spring semester and as the seniors get ready to pack up their dorms for the last time and prepare to walk across the stage at graduation, we are going to take a walk down memory lane to the years before construction.
First things first, the food. Currently, we have Mary Fisher and the Student Market. However, back in 2012, when the seniors were mere first-years, they had Stimson, Huebeck, and Pearlstone. Yes, three dining halls! Pearlstone was the place to go for quesadillas and chicken fingers.
Senior Chris Elliott says the Huebeck dining hall was home to the healthier options, as well as the original stir-fry, Chris Mayhew states. Another senior says that Sunday Brunches in Stimson were the best because they would get the breakfast pizza while their friend would make waffles with ice cream and blueberries. Now it is hard to even find any sort of berry in Mary Fisher or The Student Market.
Do you remember the Gopher Hole? The tightly packed Thursday Nights for Open Mic, sweating because there was barely any room to walk? Moe de La Viez reminisces on her first open night in the Gopher Hole, saying it was “Packed to the edges of the room, but it was so close and fun and everyone was sweating but having a great time”. The Gopher Hole was student-run cafe, being the place for students to go to for late-night snacks, as well as once-in-a-while pub nights for students who were 21+. Sure, the Go-Ho will be returning in fall of this year, but it definitely will not have the same atmosphere as it once did.
The equivalent of the first-year village for the seniors was Stimson, at least for most of them. Living in triples was quite an experience, for the most part. Having to decide who slept in which bunk and who had to share a dresser was great for bonding purposes. Especially when the mice decided to come out of their hiding spots as it got colder outside, making students fear for their life as they screamed and called Facility Management Services. Mayhew says that Stimson was packed and the place where everyone lived, making campus feel like a straight line from the academic quad and the residential quad. If you didn’t know this already, Frolicher, the three residential buildings by the first-year village, used to be where the first-year village is now, which is why the campus felt more direct four years ago versus now and how much more widespread it is.
And then there are just the little things in life that seniors miss. One is the area where Frolicher is currently. Back in the day, there used to be picnic tables and a seesaw where students could relax. Speaking of picnic tables, there used to be many more on the residential quad by the beach volleyball court. Seniors also miss the trees that used to be where the dining hall is now. Trees and benches were lined up along Van Meter, making it a perfect place for students to “people watch” as people filtered in and out of class and The Atheneum. And last but not least, is the old post office, which was located where our new dining hall is. Believe it or not, students had their own mini lockers that were just big enough to hold letter mail. There was never an email notifying students when they had received letter mail, so it was always a great surprise when they checked their locker and found something.
We hope these final few weeks for seniors is a blast, and that emotions don’t get the best of you. Enjoy the packing and the lack of students during senior week and remember that the friends you have met throughout your four years here at Goucher will be in your life for a long while.
