Mauck Hall: A Transplanted Community
Written by Anne Hotz
Mauck Hall, a grand, elegant brick residence that has housed upperclassmen women since 1927, has retained much of its beautiful character throughout the years. However, living in a building of that age inevitably comes with challenges for its residents.
In the past, the ladies of Mauck (a.k.a. the #batcavebabes) have gone to great lengths to preserve the dorm’s timeless, luxurious appeal, and in so doing have built a strong community. Even the frequent fire alarms caused by an overly sensitive system became a source of early-morning jokes and late-night conversations on the dorm’s front lawn.
This year Mauck residents have found themselves without their beloved dorm due to extensive renovations.
The College, recognizing the importance of strong dorm bonds, offered to transplant past and future Mauck residents to an off-campus house unofficially named “The Boardwalk” and a small block of studio apartments called “Park Place.” As soon as the renovations are complete, these young women will move back into Mauck.
Attempting to transplant a community is always a risky endeavor. How will the integral relationships change, and will they disappear altogether? Will the different living situation permanently (or negatively) alter the group’s dynamics?
In spite of these concerns, Mauck’s community is thriving. It certainly surprised me, a former Mauck resident and RA, to discover that the transplanted community planned to actively participate in this year’s Spirit Week and Homecoming. Mauck isn’t usually involved in these competitions, but this year its residents are more passionate than ever about their dorm identity. Their Spirit Week banner used the unique situation as an opportunity to portray a “Mauck Monopoly” board with two properties: “Boardwalk” and “Park Place”—both of which happen to be the names of properties in the original Monopoly game.
Rather than let their transplant negatively impact their community, Mauck residents are embracing the challenges of their situation just as residents of the beautiful but quirky building always have. They are proving to the rest of campus that a dorm is far more than a living arrangement: it is a close-knit group that survives no matter what.
Anne Hotz, ‘18, is an English major and Classical Education minor from Lincoln, Nebraska. She is passionate about C.S. Lewis, musicals, British novels, sweaters, and hedgehogs.