Originally published November 21, 1997
by Adam Zurn

Friday was a full moon and judging from the behavior Saturday night, it was obvious the "howling effect" was not over.

It began as a typical Saturday night in Gilbert Hall complete with the usual assortment of noises filtering in from the hallway-a cross between full contact football, an episode of Soul Train, and a game of Red Rover, Red Rover.

Loud noises and weird rumbles are quite normal in the dorms. So normal in fact, I didn't even notice the 3.0 earthquake last Thursday night. I was sitting in my room watching "ER," when at 10:45 I felt a slight rumbling. I remember the moment not because I thought it was an earthquake and the world might end, but by my amazement at how powerful the bass on someone's stereo was. I rolled my eyes and thought, "Turn it down!"

All the while, I was attempting to block out the rap music from next door, the heavy metal from down the hall, and the country-western from upstairs. The weird and outlandish is commonplace in the dorms.

Anyway, it was Saturday night, and I was preparing for bed by brushing my teeth. That's when I heard something that wasn't normally heard in the men's room-a high-pitched giggle. I, of course, ignored the noise positive it was my imagination. However, I soon heard it again. I decided to investigate by taking a peek under the stalls in the direction of the high-pitched voice. I found two sets of legs in one of the bathroom stalls.

I completely understand how the men's room provides that unique romantic backdrop that can only be created on the college campus (perhaps with the help of some Guinness). This would be my first choice of a location to "hookup." Those beautiful green and black tiles, that sweaty man smell, the location's privacy, the ample room to move around, and the impeccably clean and sterile environment that a bathroom has to offer. How could any young couple resist? Upon hearing the words, "You're turning me on." I decided that was my cue to leave.

But lo and behold, my bizarre evening was just starting. As I worked my way back to my dorm room, dodging the final few plays of this evening's hall games. I arrived at my room. I put on my pajamas and hopped into bed (alone).

I was just about to fall asleep when I heard the fire alarm go off. At first I considered ignoring the alarm and pretending not to be home when the RA knocked at my door.

The building was built in 1949. I figured it had to be filled with asbestos. How fast could it possibly burn down? I decided I should head outside anyway.

I was in no hurry though. I found some pants and a shirt to put-on, grabbed my jacket and slid into my flip-flops. As I headed out the door, I grabbed my umbrella in case it was still raining, which I hoped it wasn't.

Outside there were two groups of people. One group was the people who had already gone to bed and were in their pajamas. They were all huddled round each other in a desperate attempt to keep hypothermia from setting in. The other group was everyone who was still dressed. This group was much warmer. Among the group of the dressed and warm, I noticed a variety of different sobriety levels. But again, all of this was commonplace when living in the dorms.

After about ten or 15 minutes, the alarm stopped. We all went back inside regardless of whether it was safe or not. I headed back to bed (alone) again and soon fall asleep.

If anything more happened, I slept through it. I can only imagine what will happen next time when the full moon falls on a Saturday night.