McCollum Hall

McCollum Hall is a residence hall at the University of Kansas that opened in 1965. The hall's full name is Burton and Elmer V. McCollum Residence Hall. The hall has 10 stories and three wings in a Y-shaped configuration. McCollum holds approximately 900 people including student residents, resident assistants and management staff. It is the largest residence hall at the University of Kansas, as well as the 5th largest building on campuscite news
url=http://www.kuinfo.lib.ku.edu/questionblock.asp?id=670
publisher=The University of Kansas
title=What is the biggest building on Campus?] .It is also one of the oldest remaining "traditional style" residence halls on campus.

Burton and Elmer V. McCollum

The hall is named after two brothers: geophysicist Burton McCollum [http://www.mssu.edu/seg-vm/bio_burton_mccollum.html] and Elmer V. McCollum who discovered several vitamins (see article on nutrition).

Elmer V. McCollum (1879-1967) received a chemistry degree in 1903 and a master’s in 1904; Burton (1880-1964) completed his electrical engineering degree in 1903. Elmer, who received a doctorate from Yale and was a professor of biochemistry at Johns Hopkins, discovered vitamins A and D; Burton became a geophysicist and helped pioneer the use of seismography to drill for oilcite news
url=http://kuinfo.lib.ku.edu/r.asp?link=http://www.buildings.ku.edu
publisher=The University of Kansas
title=Campus Buildings Directory] .

Organization

Because of its large size, McCollum is divided into three semi-autonomous sectors called Areas. Each area consists of three floors. The areas are affectionately referred to as Lower, Middle, and Upper Mac. The building as a whole is known as Big Mac (a nod to the popular McDonalds hamburger).

Each area is managed by one graduate level student called an Assistant Complex Director (ACD). The ACD is aided by a staff of resident assistants (RAs); one for (and living on) each wing in the area. One RA for each area is designated a Senior-Staff RA (SSRA), and assumes additional official and leadership responsibilities for the area. The three areas together fall under the management of one Complex Director (CD). Unlike the RAs or ACDs, the CD is a full-time salaried position.

Traditional Style

McCollum Hall is classified as a Traditional Style residence hall by the university. Traditional style is a euphemism meaning that the residence hall has not been completely remodeled since its opening. These halls have older equipment, retro-fitted utilities and are seen as worn down when compared to remodeled halls.

;Elements of Traditional Style
*Two-person rooms (dimensions approx. 12.5’ x 15’)cite news
url=http://www.housing.ku.edu/residence_halls.htm
publisher=The University of Kansas Department of Student Housing
title=Residence Halls]
*Shared bathrooms for an entire wing
*Retrofit air-conditioning system
*Exposed ceiling water pipes
*Worn or out-dated furniture
*Cinderblock walls
*Building wear due to four decades of constant use

;Positive EffectsAlthough many hall residents look down on the condition of the hall, some residents prefer the hall's character and atmosphere to that of a newer, more modern facility. Reasons for this include:
*The notion that poorer individual living conditions and less individual space foster increased hall community
*The building is well-used and thus perceived as broken-in (similar to a pair of shoes)
*The hall's condition serves as an elephant in the living room. This produces a feeling of bonding with between residents who are also living in this condition and thus a feeling of pride.

;Negative EffectsSome issues arise due to McCollum Hall's traditional style. These include:
*The notion that since the building is old, it is inferior to more modern facilities
*Feelings of resentment towards the hall from residents when they first arrive. Many times this is due to the resident's former lifestyle (see Suburbia and Exurbia).

Population

The vast majority of McCollum Hall's residents are first-year undergraduate students. The rest of the population is made up of hall staff and some non-freshman students. The hall has been coed since 1966.

;Foreign StudentsMcCollum is home to the largest population of international students who live on campus. In the past, entire wings were designated for international students, but currently the international student population is dispersed throughout the building. Each spring semester, McCollum also hosts large groups of students from France and Japan. These groups typically stay for a few weeks or months and usually live with non-international residents during their stay.

;SelectionUnlike many other residence halls at the University, most residents who live in McCollum do not specially select McCollum as their hall of choice when they sign up to live in campus housing. As a result, the resident population is more diverse in general than the populations of other residence halls at the university. A primary reason for this is the cheaper cost to live in McCollum (due in part to its dated condition). Many students apply to other residence halls, only to be rejected from those halls because of space limitations and long waiting lists. Because of its large size, McCollum absorbs more of this group than any other hall.

Notable Events

*Each year, McCollum hosts a Battle of the Bands where local bands from Lawrence, KS compete for prizes. The event is held in the spring semester and is one of the largest residence hall programs at the university.

*About once a month during the school year, the hall hosts an open mic night were residents of any KU hall can perform. Students typically play music, screen short films or read poetry/spoken word. The program is held on a weekend night and is meant as an alternative to alcohol-based activities on those nights.

*In 2006, McCollum Hall hosted reality-TV celebrity Ruthie Alcaide from the MTV program as a public speaker. Ruthie spoke on alcoholism, sexual identity and race issues.

See also

*High-rise
*Brutalist architecture
*Tower block

References