Today, I took a behind-the-scenes tour of Rose House, with Professor Blalock beginning our visit by recounting a few pieces of Cornell’s history. Despite Ezra Cornell not having attended college – in fact, his education stopped after the 3rd grade – he still made great contributions to the invention of the telegraph and developed a unique vision for a university, where “any person could find any study.” Professor Blalock highlighted how “radical” Ezra’s vision truly was in the 1800s, a time when other elite universities were almost completely comprised of “rich, white, Protestant males studying theology.”

After guiding us through Noyes and the memorial room in Lyon Hall, Professor Blalock spoke about the history of Cornell housing. I had always wondered why we have limited on-campus housing. Professor Blalock explained Ezra’s reluctance to create stifling residential colleges—he simply did not want students confined to smaller, restrictive communities for their entire four years at Cornell. Though the current-day housing lottery and lease-signing of Collegetown apartments can create chaos and stress, I am glad that Ezra did not organize our school into residential colleges. Personally, I love that I can experience living in various environments and communities every year.

Our tour ended with a walk through the underground tunnel from the Becker loading dock to the Rose kitchen. This underground tunnel was created so that delivery trucks would not need to drive on Gothic Way (and possibly hit students!). This final part of the tour gave me an appreciation for the meticulous planning that goes into designing and maintaining West Campus.