So, back in college, I lived in 1044 Pritchard Hall, with Brent I (Mark’s brother), from 1992-1993… And with Arlo G and Patrick I from 1993-1994.
Now Pritchard Hall is a big dorm. At the time, it was the biggest non-military all-male dorm on the east coast, though it has since had to allow women in. It was big enough that there was actually a courtyard, so that people who lived in the inner loop could get a window. It was called The Pit, and various mischief commenced with it.
For instance, there was Horn Boy. He would let off his horn…. brooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowp. Never long enough to get caught. I remember the last day of year one, and someone saying into The Pit, “I’m gonna miss you, horn boy.”
Another thing we did was attach my pitch-shifter guitar pedal to Dan C’s P.A., and yell into the pit with pitch-shifted voices. I even heard them telling us once, “Yeah, there’s somebody with a P.A. out there.” Haha.
So, my second year at 1044 Pritchard (1993-1994), we had a new R.A. The R.A. from the first year was pretty cool. But this guy was a total pussy. I mean total. Like, he had trouble talking loud enough that you could even hear him. And he was a Christian. And he was small. And he did not have the personality of someone who would boss people around.
So at some point, we took my speakers, which were pretty large:
And Mohamad O and I blasted the Scooby Doo theme song into the pit. With our lights off.
We did this by each holding one of these huge speakers up to the window. BAM. A knock on our door.
We freak out, since we were the guilty party, and it was also kind of weird that we had our light off, as if we were hiding.
Pussy R.A. (I don’t even remember his name) came to our door. “Now guys. We heard something like the Scooby Doo theme blasting into the pit here. We just wanted to make sure it wasn’t you.” I mean, VERY non-confrontational, non-committal, and still not quite loud enough to really HEAR him. He was laughably wussy, and just the kind of R.A. you want around if you want to do stupid shit.

Scooby Doo from the Cartoon Hall mural -- one of the few characters in the hall without a hit of acid drawn onto his tongue -- because he didn't have a visible tongue (click through to see all the acid-tongued cartoons)
We laughed our asses off, knowing that he didn’t have the balls to do anything about it. I mean, they couldn’t prove anything at that point anyway. But a real douche of an R.A. could still make things annoying.
Like the one we just called “Prick”. I believe he was a blonde douchebag of an R.A. on the second floor. I still remember Diane and I accidentally setting off the local fire alarm right outside his door, and her dropping her ID at the scene. And still, somehow, we were immune to any punishment.
I got away with a LOT in that dorm room. I also pretended to be an R.A. and pretended to bust other people in another dorm room.
Good times, good times.
Mood: spicy
Music: The Dave Brockie Experience – Paddy Wagon Rape (live)










March 13, 2011 at 4:26 PM
[...] and “cartoons about kids” have rarely been a good pairing. At least Scooby Doo was kind of unique. BUT THEN THEY RE-WROTE THE DIALOG TO THE SERIES, MAKING IT GOOD IN SPITE OF [...]
April 26, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Sounds like good times! I didn’t really get a fun dorm experience. My dorm didn’t seem as fun as Pritchard. I was barely there, anyway.
I do remember finding a roach on one of my dresses when I first moved there and making the R.A. take care of it. Now that I look back, I realize it probably hitched a ride with me from my grandma’s house in Occoquan, but at the time, I was like “ewww, this dorm is infested!” and I made the poor R.A. come to my room to deal with it. That’s what she gets for being an R.A.
April 27, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Hahahahah, that’s hilarious. The type of story you never hear from a guy dorm :)
April 26, 2011 at 9:25 PM
I remember how the bathrooms were only cleaned on weekdays, and by Sunday they’d be completely unusable due to drunk people puking and otherwise messing them up. Also how the fire alarm always seemed to get pulled at 3am, and everyone pretended not to notice all the girls coming outside with their boyfriends. And the shower shitter, though that was over in the dorm next to Pritchard (blanking on the name..)
April 27, 2011 at 10:04 AM
I actually have no memory of the bathrooms being worse on the weekend. Guess it didn’t really bother me much…
The Phantom Shitter was wanted for phantom shitting in Pritchard too, I thought…
April 27, 2011 at 12:29 PM
Lee? AJ? O’Shag?
I was one of those girls coming outside with my boyfriend during one of those 3am fire drills. That was when I was a lowly high-schooler visiting him. More good times! :)
April 27, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Parthena: “Do you remember when I first saw that photo of you wearing the “police” jacket 4-5 years ago, and asked if you were a cop, and you laughed hysterically for like 10 minutes?”
April 28, 2011 at 7:38 AM
not really… sounds accurate though :)
April 28, 2011 at 7:38 AM
Mohamad O: “Yep. I was roommates w/ Vern Wilder! Remember? We faced the pit. I remember a naked dude running from one window to the next, but can’t remember what the story was? Do you?”
April 28, 2011 at 7:38 AM
*I* faced the pit – you were across the hall. Don’t remember a naked dude tho! that’s weird haha.
April 28, 2011 at 7:40 AM
Mohamad O: “The Pit!! It’s now crystal clear! I faced this three-sided pit, which allowed people an exit strategy if something went awfully wrong.
I want to e-mail you my okay impersonation of Vern’s mumbles. You’re forgetting the small laugh he does after the mumble. Shoot me your email.”
April 28, 2011 at 7:39 AM
What was that contest where whoever won or lost had to hug Vern? I remember Vern always mumbling whenever he took a leak, and everyone imitating his urination habits. haha
April 28, 2011 at 7:39 AM
Erinn: “I’m just always going to miss Mo’s stories of drunk Vern and his sexcapades.”
April 28, 2011 at 7:39 AM
I’m gonna miss Vern’s urination mumbling.
April 28, 2011 at 7:41 AM
Mohamad O: “Erin – thank you. >Sarcasm<. I can't put back the repressed memory of that night he came in with Moby Dick, humped her for 25 seconds on his raised bed, broke a part of the bed and then humped her for another 25 seconds on the floor. Thank… you.
Or maybe you were talking about one the many, many masturbation sessions he enjoyed doing while he thought I was sleeping in the room.
Erin – I'm going to be needing $400-500 a month from you for that therapist to repress those memories! :)"
April 28, 2011 at 7:38 AM
“I’m gonna miss you, horn boy”
April 28, 2011 at 7:40 AM
Roger A: “Hey I was there too! HOOOOOOOOORRRRRNNNNN BOOOOOOYYYYY!”
April 28, 2011 at 7:40 AM
I knew I was missing somebody!
October 13, 2011 at 4:23 PM
[...] old computer story. During the 2 Virginia Tech years that I lived in Pritchard Hall, I ran a BBS on the data lines they provided to the dorm. (If you don’t know what a BBS is, [...]