by paigemann

This is a love letter to Jeanne Mance. 

While some say living in Jeanne Mance is hell, I would say it is my heaven. 

Oh, my dear Jeanne Mance. While I have never stepped foot through her doors she has always been most loved by me. Nestled along Pearl Street, she is a diamond in the rough. As someone who has not had the luxury of living in this dorm I would like to ask: Is it really that bad? So what if you’re a 20 minute walk from any dining hall, all I see is being closer to the Waterfront and Church Street–and who doesn’t want that? Living in Jeanne Mance will prepare you for living in the tough real world. The lack of proximity to a dining hall will only help you better your hunting and gathering skills. 

Built in 1962, our lovely Jeanne is celebrating her 61st birthday. She is the same age as most of your parents, I can only assume, so why do we not treat her with the same respect? I know those walls have seen so much in their 61 years of housing students. Many moments in history and culture have shaped the dorm I know and love but these are just a few that I think would have had the most effect on her magical dorm halls: The assassination of JFK in 1963, the free love of the 70’s (I’m sure Jeanne has quite a few fun stories to tell about that one), the Beatles breaking up in 1970, the debut of Baywatch in 1989 (there were definitely more than a few posters of Mrs Pamela Anderson plastered on those walls, I’m sure of it), the death of icon Princess Diana in 1997, the invention of the iPhone in 2007, and I won’t dwell on what the Covid-19 pandemic did to her, but her use as the Covid ward must have truly scarred her. 

by bemmy

I admire the vintage charm of Jeanne Mance, and while I could not find the architect on the project of my dearest Jeanne, I believe that it has the feel that it has been trapped in the 60’s–which is another thing I love about her. I want to point something out and let you know that I appreciate her bathtubs, and can’t be the only one who would like to take an evening dorm bath in Jeanne Mance. The thought of being able to relax and unwind after a long day of classes in a bath might just be my most ideal situation. Was this choice of public bathtubs for fashion, or function? I don’t need to know, but I do hope that the tubs continue to get the love they must have gotten in the early days of students. 

I will leave you with this, Jeanne Mance: my love will always flourish for you, all because while I may be a Harris Millis 5, or a Trinity 7, I will forever and always be a Jeanne Mance 10. I can always count on the crowd of the Gaming Collective to make me feel like a true 10 out of 10. 

Categories: bemmy, cooler, nov 14, paige mann, Vol 27