Names: Kyle Lopinto, history major/art minor, and John Francione, interactive multimedia major
Space: Cromwell Hall
A trip to this sophomore domicile is like visiting the basement of your childhood home. Strewn with found objects and memorabilia from cartoons, movies and video games that you might remember fondly from elementary school and beyond, Francione and Lopinto have created a distinctive and comfortable space for themselves and their friends.
One of the most impressive features of the room is that they managed to fit in a cushy, blue couch that is exactly the sort that you would find in your parents' house.
These students salvaged the couch when Lopinto's dad was about to throw it out. Now located in a space where it is properly appreciated, the couch also lends to the room's homey atmosphere.
The two often sit on the couch when they play old school Nintendo or Playstation on their large screen television. Lopinto said he is a "big fan of Mario World." On top of the set is a miniature Van de Graaf generator, one of those hair-raising, electrostatic-generating orbs that many students have probably encountered in their physics classes (or at Hot Topic). On the floor below, a brown bowling ball makes its place as an inexplicable fixture.
The walls are intriguing in that they are covered with items that reflect their individual senses of humor, but which are often indecipherable to outsiders. Postings include a newspaper-clipped photo of President Bush and the Queen of England, an excerpt from a short story by Charles Bukowski, a miniature manifesto by a roommate's disgruntled girlfriend, which begins: "This bathroom is absolutely disgusting," and a framed Power Rangers poster that they found in a thrift store. In short, anything deemed "funny" will find its way onto the walls.
A glance upwards removes the last shred of potential normalcy from the room. Taped on the ceiling are the mystifying words "Fartlo Jr" and "Po Ta Toes," which even glow when a black light is turned on.
More run of the mill are a smattering of glow in the dark stars, which also grace other random articles of furniture, such as the bunk beds and the TV.
A mobile-like object constructed from wire and the twigs of a dead tree hangs by the window. Dangling from it are BeeBop, Master Shredder's pig-faced henchman from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, an Elvis Christmas ornament and a "Homie," one of a collection of tiny, whimsical, "urban" figurines that are often sold in supermarket vending machines.
Other figurines such as Treebeard, the tree-like monster from "The Lord of the Rings" and an action figure from "Evil Dead" can be found on Francione's and Lopinto's shelves, respectively.
Lopinto also displays a small, painted cow with a white face on the windowsill. He has enjoyed painting the Christmas gift from a friend in his spare time.
