On Tuesday evening, Le Mans Hall hosted an event in Stapleton Lounge as an effort to bring the students of Saint Mary’s together one last time before the stress of finals season kicks in. It was initially supposed to be an outdoor block party located at the recently built Belle’s Patio, but the event was moved indoors due to inclement weather.
“It was originally supposed to be a barbecue-type thing outside, but the weather did not permit, so we moved it to Stapleton,” Salwa Ahmed, a hall director of Le Mans Hall, said. “We originally wanted to have lawn games and have that type of vibe, but we changed it to board games, and we also have a lot of food. It was all my RAs’ idea, and I think they did a great job.”
As a hall director, Ahmed has dedicated a lot of her time toward bringing the community living in Le Mans together through events like this.
“I feel like it is a special dorm because it’s mainly a lot of upperclassmen, so you have to cater to them a little bit differently than you would to other dorms,” she said. “Events like this help with that by creating a space for residents to grab games and hang out, but they can also easily go to the Reignbeaux Lounge and study with friends afterwards.”
Emma Baran, a sophomore at Saint Mary’s, was an attendee of the event. Baran is planning on living in Le Mans for the 2023-24 school year, and she said she is excited about callingf herself an upperclassmen.
“I view living in Le Mans as a symbol of a Smick stepping into the final phase of living on campus,” she said. “All the girls that you are going to be living with here are the ones you have bonded with over the last two years, and Le Mans kind of signifies that ending. Events like the block party cultivate a community within the hall that makes your last year living in the dorms that more special.”
While Baran intends to live in an off-campus house her senior year, she said she is going the dorms more than she thought she would.
“I’m really going to miss just being able to walk down the hallway and see all of my friends,” she said. “Even if it’s late at night, I can just go into anyone’s room and hang out without having to drive to their homes or anything like that. I feel like a lot of other colleges promote the idea of living off campus for the majority of your college years, but I think the dorms are what make the tri-campus community even more special.”
