2008 Woodie Awards
Tales from 2 AM
Jordan Krueger
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Trinity Life
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You think you know a campus until you catch it cloaked in darkness; the anonymity of night changes everything. In an effort to divulge what lies hidden behind the closed blinds of dimly lit dorm rooms, the Trinitonian has sent a pioneer through campus, shining flashlights through the windows of sleepless students and documenting their stories.
It was after two in the morning. I fueled myself with a couple of chemicals, packed a notebook, camera and flashlight into my bag and began my tour around campus.
I checked a few rooms in upper campus first; no one even had their blinds open at this time of night, but I could still tell whether a room had a light on or not. This actually proved to be very frustrating.
At 2:30 or so in the morning, a couple of rooms in every hall had their lights on and their blinds down. But a Maglite can only shine so brightly, and a student awake around 2 a.m. can only be so alert as to actually notice a dim light shining into their room. Nonetheless, I tried shining my Maglite into the lit rooms on the Second and Third Floors of Susanna to no success.
On my way towards the freshman quad, I noticed a lit room on the first floor of Murchison. The blinds did not hang all the way down to the bottom of the window, so I, in an awkwardly stalking frame of reference, could peak through and see a student playing Guitar Hero- "Guitar Hero 3," it looked like. Too engrossed in mastering his new game, the student didn't notice my flashlight shining through his window.
I made my way onto the yard between the Calvert, Witt and Winn halls, a hot spot for determining which insomnia-driven first year might be awake around what was now 3 a.m. To my luck and surprise, I spotted a couple first years- three of them- making their way across a second floor balcony in Winn. I shined my light on them and asked them what they were doing.
Naturally, they seemed startled to have a Maglite shone on them; they said they were just about to go to sleep. Sensing their curiosity, I quickly explained that I was a reporter writing a feature story on what students are actually doing this time of night. I asked if I could come in and hear their story; they revealed their room number, and I cautiously swiped into the building.
It was after two in the morning. I fueled myself with a couple of chemicals, packed a notebook, camera and flashlight into my bag and began my tour around campus.
I checked a few rooms in upper campus first; no one even had their blinds open at this time of night, but I could still tell whether a room had a light on or not. This actually proved to be very frustrating.
At 2:30 or so in the morning, a couple of rooms in every hall had their lights on and their blinds down. But a Maglite can only shine so brightly, and a student awake around 2 a.m. can only be so alert as to actually notice a dim light shining into their room. Nonetheless, I tried shining my Maglite into the lit rooms on the Second and Third Floors of Susanna to no success.
On my way towards the freshman quad, I noticed a lit room on the first floor of Murchison. The blinds did not hang all the way down to the bottom of the window, so I, in an awkwardly stalking frame of reference, could peak through and see a student playing Guitar Hero- "Guitar Hero 3," it looked like. Too engrossed in mastering his new game, the student didn't notice my flashlight shining through his window.
I made my way onto the yard between the Calvert, Witt and Winn halls, a hot spot for determining which insomnia-driven first year might be awake around what was now 3 a.m. To my luck and surprise, I spotted a couple first years- three of them- making their way across a second floor balcony in Winn. I shined my light on them and asked them what they were doing.
Naturally, they seemed startled to have a Maglite shone on them; they said they were just about to go to sleep. Sensing their curiosity, I quickly explained that I was a reporter writing a feature story on what students are actually doing this time of night. I asked if I could come in and hear their story; they revealed their room number, and I cautiously swiped into the building.
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