Bye to brick walls, ciao to waffle ceilings

A large crowd of students gathered yesterday in the Butler Quad to bid a fond farewell to brick walls and waffle ceilings.

Immediately after Reunions, the five buildings that form the Butler Quad — Lourie-Love, 1922, 1940, 1941 and 1942 Halls — will be demolished to make room for the construction of new dormitories.

Yesterday's Farewell to Butler Quad Party hosted live performances from the Sensemaya Afrobeat All-Stars, Spinglass and Funk Master General, bands that each have at least one member in Butler College. In the crowded Quad, bricks from Butler buildings were raffled off.

The college office also showcased student art submissions which captured Butler Quad at its most picturesque times, for example during a winter snow storm. One work depicted the artist sitting underneath Butler's most infamous quality: its waffle ceilings. Free T-shirts paying homage to Butler's waffle ceilings read "Waffle Ceilings: The End of an Era." And of course, hot waffles were served for dessert.

Butler director of studies Matthew Lazen is building a website where Butlerites past and present can post recollections and pictures that commemorate their experiences in the Quad. The site will serve as a historical testament to the era of the Quad, from 1964 to 2007.

Though the new construction will surely be more aesthetically pleasing, Butlerites still mourn their loss.

"I'm sad because it had personality," Butler resident Rebecca Arkin '10 said. "But," she added, "it really is hideous."

"It's bittersweet," Lazen said. "Even though the dorms were not considered the jewels of Princeton ... students lived two special years of their lives there," he said.

Upperclass RCAs and fellows were nostalgic, relating the emptiness they will feel when they return to campus for Reunions and see the new buildings that will replace the Quad.

"I feel sad to see my four-year residence going down," Butler RCA Hiroaki Sai '07, a member of Butler College, said in an email.

"Maybe because this is the first place I lived outside of my country, away from home. While the new dorms will be probably better-looking and will be attractive to more students, my Princeton memories will still be with the buildings I lived, which will be missing every time I come back for reunions."

Zach Berta '07, another Butler RCA, also shared wistful sentiments.

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"I'll miss the place," he said. "I'm perfectly willing to concede that it's not the most beautiful quad in the world." Though, he added, "it's more charming than people give it credit for."

Both RCAs said that while the architecture may not be beautiful, the individual rooms are nice.

"I loved the huge windows in the Butler rooms," Sai added. "When I was living in the fourth floor of Lourie-Love, I could gaze up to Feinberg over Wilcox. The view there was fantastic. Some squirrels on the side of the window made the scenery perfect."

Butlerites agree there is a strong community feeling within Butler. Many attribute it to the layout of the buildings. "I personally think the structure of Butler Quad dorms makes people very close to each other," Sai said. "You really can't live a day without seeing your neighbors in the corridor and in the bathroom."

Some expressed worry that this sense of community will be disrupted by the destruction of the Quad.

Butler fellow Paul Cowgill '08 said, "I think it's time for new buildings," but until they are constructed he thinks the community feeling special to Butler may be hard to establish.

"The Quad defines Butler," he said, and now "the buildings will be spread all over campus." But, he added, "I support the destruction of the Quad."

"One thing I liked about the quad is walking back late at night," he said.

He explained that there are a substantial number of months during the year when, if you walk in from the northwest corner of the Quad, the constellation Orion shines directly over Butler Quad.