With major heat plaguing Columbia in the middle of September, the air conditioning units in the McBryde Quadrangle decided it was a good time to quit working. The university took about a full week to diagnose the source of the problem and fix it — a week that felt like hell on Earth. It was a nonstop sweat-fest with everyone complaining about the sauna that was McBryde, forcing me and some other fellow McBros to buy fans from Walmart. This experience is one of many problems I have encountered during my stay on McBryde B2, including the stench of weed filling the hallway on occasion, inadequate water pressure in the water fountains, the lack of female habitants and the not-too-pleasing appearance, just to name a few. However, despite all these cons, there are pros that allow McBryde to feel like home.
On that Walmart adventure, we were unable to find fans, but we did buy Nerf guns. Think of this: a bunch of bored 18-year-old men with Nerf guns and nothing else to do. Being pegged by a Nerf bullet while innocently walking to the bathroom became a regular occurrence.
One of the first nights, two men, under the influence of too much alcohol, thought it was a fantastic idea to joust each other. Two guys started at each end of the hallway and flew towards each other on rolling chairs propelled by two volunteers, holding blunt objects and attempting to knock the other off his fake steed.
Another night, we collectively decided to play free-for-all dodge ball with a Nerf football and our rolling chairs in the hallway. Chaos ensued.
When I tell people that I live in McBryde, most of them respond with something along the lines of “Oh, I’m sorry.” People have a preconceived idea of McBryde that it is essentially a prison, and I quickly take to defending it. From my personal experience, McBryde has been a great living assignment. Many of us have bonded on B2, and it is not uncommon to see a room full of guys from the floor hanging out. Whether it is that McBryde is an all-guys dorm or that we are united by the building’s deficiencies, I am comfortable with my living situation. While it is not the nicest place to live, I would, without a doubt, call McBryde “home.”