Rice Cribs: At Duncan, size does matter

By Alex Bisberg     8/30/12 7:00pm

 

It was easy to tell that this suite should be ranked above the average Rice University room because an electronic doorbell has already been mounted outside the door. I tapped the white plastic button and peered into the small circular window. Duncan College junior Lidja Wilhelm's plaid-covered arm reached to open the door to suite 4D.

The hallways of this L-shaped closed suite were decked with bookshelves, refrigerators and nearly every accommodation one could imagine. As Wilhelm explains, four of the six suitemates lived off campus last year, so many of them brought extra furniture they had purchased for their apartments.

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Moving into the common room, a dominant 100-inch high-definition projection of the video game FIFA 2012 covers an entire wall.

"The secret was a lot of double-sided tape," Wilhelms said.

Junior Gage Wright, another suitemate, was the mastermind behind this contraption. He constructed wooden mounts for both the screen and projector and stuck them to the wall and ceiling using Command Strips and double-sided tape.

Three couches of a few different sizes added a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing feel to the common room. Towering above the rest of the room stood a lofted bed for the stranded offcampus soul in need of a warm sleeping place.

Artwork and decor were also important aspects of this crib. A Rice "R" Texas flag hung as the centerpiece of the common room under the lofted bed. Scooped-out rounded chairs sit in front of the projector screen, and a quirky IKEA light recalled the image of a sea anemone. Even the bathroom was adorned with a custom shower curtain and wall art. Some of senior Taryn Alford's very own artwork covered the walls, adding a personal touch to this room.

Wright ingeniously connected an extra metal backing to the back of the towel rack and then attached it to the wall with Command Strips; an easy fix for a tight budget. Lofted beds are known to be notoriously flimsy, so for $27 the suite purchased a metal support cable from Target. For a small price, these suitemates added some necessary stability to their bed set.

Another fun idea from the suite is the penalty jar. Whenever someone forgets his or her key, breaks something or violates one of the suite rules, he must put a certain fine into the jar.

Such a well organized room could not have been created without the obvious chemistry between these Duncaroos.

"It's a cool suite. We have a lot of fun," Alford said.

Senior Chris Hurd and junior Matt Kaufman focused intently on the FIFA game on the projection screen in front of them. Shouts and roars erupt at pivotal moments. In the end, Joe Hart, the Manchester United goalkeeper, made a diving save during a penalty shootout to end the game. I made my exit just as the rematch was beginning.

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