Bill Boyer's Blog

The Writing that Defines our Home

When the average individual is asked to think about “writing”, they most likely think of books, newspapers, magazines, essays or the like. However, a great quantity of the writing that exists in the world is located in our immediate environment: our living space.

As a resident of Mistletoe Residential College here at Case Western Reserve University, it is surprising to see how much the writing around us reveals information about our own lives and community. This writing that I speak of covers anything between bulletin boards regarding academia to notes left by students on dry-erase boards. Although the writing in the residence halls contains so many different types, each piece of evidence of writing can be placed into two categories: writing which students display to create their individuality or writing that the school (RA’s, Administrators, etc) displays to help students learn and become a community. In turn, these two categories expose an internal clash in every member at Case Western, the clash between individuality and community.

Many of the pieces of writing throughout my residence hall have been displayed within the past month by students themselves. One of the most prominent forms of writing comes via dry-erase boards which most students have on the outside of their door. The practical purpose of these boards is to leave messages to roommates such as “At Class Back At 3:30”. However, the majority of the use that they receive is in the form of messages left by random other people. Often times vulgar, these messages are just examples of students displaying their crazy and spontaneous personalities while simultaneously showing individuality.

Again using doors as a media to display pictures/writing, other students have an array of flyers for clubs, comic strips, or pictures of random celebrities. The purpose of displaying these can be anywhere from “I’m interested in these types of things.” to “I’m a completely random person and I just decided to put this on my door on a whim.” While some people might disregard these pieces of writing as immature spontaneity, I argue that these present a glimpse into the person who displayed them and therefore defines their individuality. Below is a picture of a neighbor’s door which displays many of the types of writing that I have mentioned: dry-erase board, comic strips, flyers, etc.

The other component of writing in the residence halls fits into the category of writing that is displayed by the RAs or other individuals in authority to create a sense of community. In this case, the residence hall administrators feel it is their obligation and duty to instill a sense of togetherness within their respective residents. They do this by planning residence hall events (which are advertised through flyers), encouraging students to study together, and creating the organization of residential colleges, buildings, and floors.

In order to encourage students to study together and form a community with the school, there exists a bulletin board dedicated to ESS (Educational Services for Students) which has several flyers pertaining to “How to study in groups” or “How can I pass my big exam?”

Another example of community occurs with the creation of residential colleges such as “Mistletoe”. As a result, our floor dons a large escutcheon of Mistletoe which everyone has signed. Again, the purpose of this writing pertains to the desire for a sense of community among students.

Although I mentioned earlier that these contrasting ideals of individuality and community create a clash, it is possible for the effective integration of these components. Such a subtle combination can be found on the doors of RAs. In one sense, they must fulfill their job as a resident assistant and lend aid to those students who need it as well as support the community of their respective floor. However, they are, at the same time, individuals who want to display the crazy and spontaneous pictures that their residents do. Depicted below is the door of one such RA who displays his schedule, an emblem pertaining to himself, and a white board (not shown) – all examples of individuality. However, also in the mix is a sign saying that he is there to lend aid to his residents and play the role of an administrator.

Therefore, while it can be said that there are two distinct forms of writing in residential buildings, it is also possible for their boundaries to be meshed together.