Rice Cribs journeys back through time

By Alex Bisberg     1/31/12 6:00pm

Men and women surround a short coffee table, positioned in comfortable armchairs and drink fine beverages as they fill the room with calm laughter. Some are packing pipes, while others are standing to socialize, drink in hand. In the background, a humorous English sitcom plays amid the warm hum of voices.

This scene seems out of place by at least 60 years and thousands of miles, but it actually exists right here on our campus. In fact, it can often be found on a Saturday night, in the third-floor common room of "Nexas."

As I made the trek across campus to Hanszen College, images of this famed "Nexas" room raced through my mind. This exotic name brought up inclinations of otherworldly spaceships and an intense party atmosphere. Yet when the bearded face of Hanszen College senior Ross Tieken opened the door to his room, my extraterrestrial preconceptions were shattered.

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Posted on the inside of the door is a handmade declaration of sorts. It turns out, now ironically obvious, that Nexas has nothing to do with nebulas and stars. The word Nexas is literally a hybrid of New York and Texas, formed because two suitemates, Tieken and Hanszen College senior Thomas Motter, are from Texas, and two, Hanszen College Junior Michael Cheng and Hanszen College sophomore T.C. Weinlandt, are from New York.

Adorned with Tieken's oriental rugs, a few dark green couches and a small traveling chest-turned-coffee table, this room's furnishings were far from ordinary. Two refrigerators stood guard on top of a desk to the right of the entryway. Below them, a shelf held cups and glasses of all shapes and sizes. Past the shelf exists a modestly sized TV hooked up to a PS3 next to white jars filled with coffee and tea.

Tieken explained that the idea for the room started with a simple question: "How do we make ourselves comfortable?" These men didn't enjoy the drinking and social culture going on around them, so they decided to break out of it. Soon, they realized many sympathized with them, and the room became a sanctuary for those opposed to the loud music and low-quality alcoholic beverages. Not only is this charismatic room open on the weekends, Tieken assured, but many also stop by throughout the week. Most importantly, he emphasized, "Anyone is welcome."

These welcoming Hanszenites brightened my day and have helped many a downtrodden socialite. Tieken left me with a parting remark: "He who lives well, lives twice."

With open doors and delicious beverages, these gentlemen have a lot of living left to do, and the rest of campus is welcome to do it with them.

Rice Cribs explores various dorm designs around campus. If you would like to suggest a room to be featured, email Alex Bisberg at ajb7@rice.edu.

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