I saw this NIH funding opportunity announcement pop up in my RSS feed just now, and had a flashback to the joys of hall of residence1 dining during my first year of undergrad.
Specifically, using a canteen tray2 to protect myself from the mashed potato being hurled by the drunken agrics3 at the next table.
1 or “dormitory”, for those of the North American persuasion
2 may or may not have also been appropriated for tobogganing down the big hill on the Town Moor in winter
3 Agricultural science students. Infamous at Newcastle University, and usually banned from the Student Union building by the end of the first week of term. The term “drunken agric” is actually a tautology.
I knew a guy who did agricultural economics at Newcastle. I guess he always knew who’s round it was.
Ask him about the cow in the lift at Castle Leazes (Newcastle University urban legend)
Food fights were SOP on the Friday evening proceeding finals week, at my college. You knew it was going to get gnarly, when the football players showed up for dinner wearing garbage bag (bin liner) tunics.
It’s called “residence” at UofT, too.
Kristi, but did they need their helmets and pads?!
Eva, I stand corrected (although I think they’re called dorms at UBC).
awww… agrics and riding the sled (ok, mattress or something else) down the hill in the snow… fond memories 🙂
I can’t remember what we called it at UBC… dorms or student housing. I do remember it was not allowed to drink in the common area though, only in your own room (or someone else’s) but not move containers in between.. easier to break up parties that way I suppose…
Ours had its own bar with ridiculously cheap beer, 10 pence pool tables, and table football that cost 2p. Good times!
Cath, no helmets or pads would protect against a pitcher of iced tea dumped down your back. Though the main foodfighters were very sweet about helping non-combatants escape the fray, prior to the intense cannonade of buns, salad, and lasagna (why, oh why, did campus food services always serve lasagna on nights known to be Foodfight Offensives?).
I was happy to learn from one of the dental students that the resident faculty member for my undergrad college (our dorms were called colleges, for residence and social, rather than academic, organization; placement in a particular college worked rather like the Sorting Hat) is still in place. I think he’s in his 80s, but still plays foosball, eats in the college dining hall, and goes to garage sales with his young mentees.
Food Defense? I’m thinking transgenic cows covered with hedgehog spines, or perhaps sheep equipped with nasty pointy teeth.
Cue the Killer Rabbit, someone…
Richard> that was another thread 😉
Cath> I thought the student pub in the basement of the Student union had cheap pitchers (compared to Sweden anyway). I seem to remember another pub on campus as well… with a shuffle board?!? gosh, this sounds way worse than it was – promise!
Someone told me there used to be food fights at particular conferences where the food was really bad, but I can’t picture it really happening?
Kristi, sounds like the resident faculty member has a pretty good life, but I don’t think it would work for me! I enjoyed living in halls and having 30 or 40 of my closest friends so close by, but one year was enough!
Richard, that sounds more like defensive food than food defense
Åsa, you mean the Pit? I’ve only been once, but Mr E Man and his friends used to hang out there. As non-students with (relatively speaking) lots of cash to flash, they did pretty well with the ladies when they were 20 or so!
Sabbi, I can’t really imagine that either – it would have to be really outstandingly bad food!
Oops, I forgot which blog I was on for a minute there. Mr E Man is the pseudonym I use for my husband on my other blog.
Cath: that might be the name… have to admit I didn’t go that many times but it was cheap according to me (although it was in a basement and no windows if I remember correctly) 😉 I was a more frequent visitor to the sushiplace by the bus stop. yummmmy sushi!
We have a very serious traying tradition at Wellesley, down Severance Hill. Unfortunately, the three years I was on campus in the winter, it wasn’t a proper Boston winter. Before and after, yes. So I never got to try when I was young enough to not worry about breaking a hip.
Åsa, my colleague just brought me an early Christmas present – a sushi lunch at my desk! Yummmmmm.
Heather, what a shame! I grew up in York, where a) it almost never snows and b) there are no hills. Well, there’s one hill. The one time it snowed more than 0.5cm, approximately one third of the population of the city went there and made it all muddy.