Dorm Bonding: What You Didn’t Know How Chapel House Became Chapel Home
By Regina DePietro ‘07
News Staff Reporter
“Live up, not down,” goes the mantra of Chapel Home. The members of this dorm add a secret hand symbol to the saying, involving a pound to the chest and pointing one finger into the air.
Scott Mattoon, a French teacher and the adviser to Chapel Home, says that he tries many mantras with the boys. “Just like cooking pasta, you throw it against the wall to see if it’s ready and some of the pasta sticks and some doesn’t,” said Mr. Mattoon. “Live up, not down” obviously stuck.
Some other mantras are: “Strength and honor,” “Habit becomes character,” and “Float above the sea.” The last mantra refers to floating above the “C” grade. In fact, because the Chapel Home boys floated above the “C” for the fall term, they recently got cable in their common room.
Mr. Mattoon named the dorm Chapel Home instead of Chapel House, “because it is not a house, it’s a home,” he said. Chapel Home member Lukens Orthwein ’06 added, “It’s nearly a commune.”
Chapel Home is known on campus for their “Shower Rocker’s Anonymous” group on The Facebook, a popular internet site among students. “We have a shower radio, and we rock to our tunes in the shower, hence the name, shower rockers anonymous,” explained dorm member Sam Bozoian ’06. “But we don’t just rock, we all sing along, at the same time, so it’s more like a chorus.” Some of their favorite tunes to sing to in their communal shower are selections from the Backstreet Boys, The Foundations’ “Build Me Up Buttercup,” and the Power Rangers theme song, which Orthwein has on his iPod. “We’re better than the Backstreet Boys,” said Scott MacArthur ’06.
Recently, the boys have been doing their shower singing a cappella because someone stole their shower radio, though they claim that they know who it is, and that the person will soon feel the wrath of Chapel Home if he does not return it.
The boys also do a lot of bonding inside the dorm. Activities include grilling steak on the George Foreman grill, making “righteous” blends with the help of the dorm blender and Stop and Shop’s delivery service, watching “Clueless,” and playing “NBA: Street” on their new X-Box 360. Favorite outdoor activities include going to Sushi House’s All You Can Eat, bowling, and going to the movie theater.
With their outdoor grill, Chapel Home had a grilling outing to the Cross Country Founder’s Day at Hotchkiss. They are planning to do a tailgate outside of the Remsen Arena this Friday night for the Deerfield. You will be able to notice the boys because of their blue and white matching rugby shirts. Bozoian remarks, “We look cute in those shirts, especially Kevin Cunningham ‘06”
