Brown Hall Dormmates
In 1947, there was great need for more living space, thus the creation of Brown Hall dormitories.[1] This photograph depicts Brown in the school year 1981-1982. Interestingly enough, this same year Brown underwent a renovation. This included interior renovations, new furniture for the lounges, and extra insulation. According to The Concordian, men occupied units 1-5 during this time.[2] This photo was taken outside unit 4 because this unit has the round steps and a rain drain. The actual building in the image has not changed much at all. There are small minor details such as a window door, different color curtains and newer windows, and other than that, the physical appearance hasn’t been changed from that over 30 years ago.
During the 1980s there was experimentation across the nation with coed dormitories according to The New York Times. The nation's traditional views were slowly moving towards a more liberal front. There was much controversy over this topic as many women thought they were not viewed as equal by their male neighbors.Their were tensions brought on by sexism as the males viewed the women as a piece of meat as opposed to their fellow intellectuals.[3] Concordia, however, stood strong and continued with their firm traditional rules as to maintain the good reputation of being a Christian college. They stuck with the residence rules the way they were in order to "promote godly living."[4]
The main difference in this dorm today is related to the genders in the dorm As displayed in the rephotograph, the occupants of unit 4 are now female. The dorms have switched which units the girls and boys live in. The units are still gender exclusive; however, there is a big difference in residence life of this dorm between now then. This has to do with Concordia intervisitation policy. This policy has been long debated throughout the history of the college. According Carroll Engehardt, during the 80s the campus held many surveys to gain insight into how students felt about the rule. Many believed "a resonable opprtunity to communitcate with the opposite sex would lead to awareness and understanding, not promiscuity."[5] Also during this time, several articles in The Concordian mention talks of changing the policy during the time of the first photograph. The proposed changes were to increase the intervis hours to 4pm-midnight Friday, 1pm-midnight Saturday, and 1pm- 10pm Sunday. Very recently there has been a major change in this policy compared to back then.[6] This academic year, the school decided to have a trial of a dorm without intervisitation rules, meaning there’s no time limit to when the opposite sex can be in the room. The dorm that the school decided to change is Brown Hall. So far there has not been any major issues with the new change. In quite possibly in the near future, intervis could become a thing of the past. Digging deeper into this picture illustrates one of the many changes that have occurred over the past 30 years.
[1] Concordia College,"Brown Hall," Concordia College, accesssed December 15, 2013, http://www.concordiacollege.edu/student-life/residence-life/residence-halls/brown-hall/
[2] Cassiette Angela West, “Dorm Slated for Renovation,” Concordian, March 12, 1982, 5.
[3] Fred Ferretti, "Students Like Coed Dorms Despite Problems," The New York Times, March 20, 1981
[4] Engelhardt, On Firm Foundation Grounded, 341.
[5] Carroll Engelhardt, On Firm Foundation Grounded (Moorhead, MN: Concordia College, 1991), 341.
[6] Dave Rustad, “Proposal to Increase Intervis,”Concordian, November 20, 1881, 1.
Essay by Anna Smith