West Campus is larger than it appears. This week, I had the pleasure of exploring different parts of West Campus as I continue to learn more about the place I call home. Before we departed for our journey, however, Professor Blalock gave us an interesting overview of the history of West Campus. For instance, I had no idea that Rose House was the last house on West Campus to be built, or that West Campus was tremendously expensive, since it was rushed to be constructed in order to avoid the increasing costs of building supplies, only for the recession to hit and for the construction costs to decrease dramatically the year following its completion. But to me, the most eye-opening part of our event was the actual exploration of Becker and Rose Houses.

We began our journey at Becker House, traveling through the underground tunnels that I had no idea even existed. Among the first attractions we saw was the kitchen, followed by the food storage area. This part was really captivating for me since I never saw the kitchen and the dining hall with this back-room perspective. It was also interesting to see all the different food stored away to be used in future meals. The next fascinating portion of our tour was the facilities’ offices, which is the center of building care and where staff meet in the morning to discuss daily objectives. This was particularly interesting to me, since I had no idea where facilities personnel operated from.

Following our tour of Becker House, we entered Rose House through a connecting tunnel. For me, the most fascinating part of Rose House we explored was the tunnel underneath Professor Blalock’s apartment. I found it very interesting that, according to Professor Blalock, although it appears that the tunnel absorbs all sounds, every conversation in the tunnel travels to his apartment and he and his family can hear every word spoken. I was shocked by this fact, since the tunnel looked as if no sound can escape, but as I’ve learned, looks can be deceiving, and in this case, they were.

Overall, our discussion and tour was both informative and captivating, as I got to learn more about West Campus and had the opportunity to explore parts I had no idea existed. Because we as residents have access to the newly discovered tunnels, I would definitely like to go down again and explore further. I thought I knew everything about Rose House, but I was wrong. Everything is a learning opportunity, and I am hopeful to be able to learn even more about our dorm.