Ithacating in Cornell Heights

“what was the first residential building at cornell” (10-13-10)

Technically speaking, the first residential building was Cascadilla, which was re-appropriated by  Ezra Cornell to serve as a dormitory for students and faculty when the school first opened its doors in October 1868. White and Morrill Halls served as both residential and classroom facilities, but I suppose by a strict interpretation of the question, those would be mixed use. The first residential building for women was Sage College in 1875, and the first building built explicitly to be an all-male dorm was Baker Tower on West Campus, in 1914 (A.D. White was a strong advocate of housing male students in fraternities or boarding houses, to encourage independence— hence the tardiness of new dorms for men).

“ithaca beer company” (10-11-10)

One of the minor caveats I have with the area in which I moved to post-graduation is that there’s no Ithaca Beer distributor. Trust me, I looked it up, and the nearest one is in Utica (or the Catskills, I haven’t checked that closely). It would be a nice little nostalgia trip to be out at the bar with my fellow grad students and order an Apricot Wheat, but it’s not possible here. This is why I need to quench my inner lush and stock up the next time I visit. Also, it seems I’m not be the only one who enjoys their beers – they’re expanding the brewery and adding a restaurant.

“president’s house ithaca college” (10-10-10)

Rather peculiar for an all-residential college, but Ithaca College’s president lives off campus on Fountain Place. Fountain Place borders Cascadilla Glen and is between Collegetown and downtown. It also only has three houses on the street, all of which are really expensive looking.

“small frat house at cornell” (10-7-10)

Depends on the meaning of small; I think in terms of number that goes to Sigma Chi Delta, a very small co-ed fraternity on Heights Court (OFSA reported they had 11 members in the Spring of 2009; their website records 15 as of Fall 2010). In terms of size, I honestly don’t know, but would venture an educated guess at Sigma Chi Delta.

I actually was at this house a few times. One of my housemates dated a girl who was president of this house, and even though they broke up, I was still friends with the ex, and since they were just down the street from my apartment, it was never much trouble to go over and say hello once in a great while. Nice folks.

“beer pong table designs” (10-6-10)

They’re never classy and only useful for a few years. By then, you’ve ever grown out of it or the table is wearing out. But I have seen some pretty nice tables over the years. I always had a soft spot for beer pong tables with inlaid beer caps. So in August of 2009, I refinished a standard table in my fraternity’s living room with beer caps.

It’s a pain in the ass. Getting enough caps is difficult because hardly anyone wants to be “that” guy running around collecting caps at a party. I guesstimate that I used about 1500 caps. For the finish, I used a combo of resin and epoxy that cost about $90. Basically, I had to mix the two together in a large bucket with a broomstick, and pour it down on the (edge-sealed) table in 1/8” layers, with about 8 hours for each layer to dry. It took about three days. Oh, and if you don’t glue the caps down, you risk them floating up and away while pouring — never fun. Popping the air bubbles that rise up isn’t a great time either. Eventually, the table was done, (I did it in the fraternity’s letters with an unpatterned border) and it came out really well. The last time I visited, it was still there and in relatively good shape after a year’s worth of food and drink spills. It made me happy. It’s a small source of pride, in its own, perverse way.