Hall

A hall is a set of dorm rooms under the direction of an RA. The dorms are normally positioned such that there is a hallway to access them... which is very sensible. Sometimes, a single hallway is shared by two separate halls.

Hall Meeting

Every hall at CTY has a mandatory hall meeting around 9:50, after Quad Time or Meet Market, but before Lights Out. The RAs will go over administrative announcements and, sometimes, news headlines. Some RAs will ask the students about their day. The length of a hall meeting varies, but they can be finished very quickly, if everyone pays attention. Hall problems and activites such as Hall Bonding may also be discussed.

Additional meetings are held on the first day of camp and before Hall Bonding.

Hall Bonding

Hall Bonding is referred to normally as "Hall Bondage," because "it's bound to be fun 'cause it's fun to be bound."

Hall Bonding is a Sunday activity that typically occurs during the afternoon. During Hall Bondage, students go along with their RAs for some quality hall fun. Activities include watching movies, going to the local market/convenience store, going into town, water balloon fights, even absolutely nothing if that's what the hall wants.

Hall Bondage at Lancaster is infamous for its substitute dinners, in which pizza and snacks come from the cafeteria and students are asked not to go to dinner. Fewer workers are on duty on Sundays, so this helps to reduce the influx of students into the cafeteria. Some students choose to go back in, anyway.

Sleepovers

Sleepovers can occur on Friday and Saturday nights, at the discretion of RAs. Basically, everybody in a hall piles their fans and mattresses into one (or two) room(s).

Sometimes, sleepovers only occur on one night because the RA has night patrol duties. RAs are also known to prohibit sleepovers if they get too loud. All normal lights out rules must be followed.

Illegal Sleepovers

Sleepovers that occur on non-Friday/Saturday nights are illegal. They may result in punitive measures if the RA finds out, such as earlier lights out, no more sleepovers, sending people to the main office, missing a dance, etc.

Technically, on the last calendar Thursday (CTY LAN Friday) of the session, sleepovers are illegal. However, on this day, many RAs put on headphones and listen to loud music for an hour without checking the hall. Basically, it depends on the RA, although not officially.

An Illegal Sleepover's difficultly really just depends on the RA you have. Some RAs patrol the halls and actually knock on doors to check for illegal sleepovers, while others might not care at all.

Illegal sleepovers are made easier when an RA has a night patrol of the whole campus.

Hall Hopping

Hall hopping involves having a sleepover in another hall. This is very illegal, and will definitely call for strict punishments.

In Skidmore this is allowed on the last night, although cross floor sleepovers are definitely not allowed. In KNE.05 and JHU.04, this was allowed all sleepover nights, cross floor sleepovers included. This was made difficult in JHU due to the "one person per matress" rule, which forced sleepover participants to drag matresses up and down flights of stairs.

Illegal Sleepovers at JHU

Starting in 07.2, any sleepover at JHU is illegal. This is due to a stupid conflict between the rules of CTY and the rules of JHU housing. CTY rules require one person per mattress, so people have to drag their mattresses around to have sleepovers. Apparently, though, JHU housing admin found out about this and noticed that JHU housing rules did not allow the movement of mattresses. Thus, people may not have sleepovers until further notice. Hence, the following guide:

How to Survive an Illegal Sleepovers

An experienced veteran's account of how not to get caught.

1. Set it up wisely:

   Make sure you know who you're going to be rooming with; don't bring too many people in, otherwise the noise will attract RAs on patrol. Bring only the bare essentials; never bring mattresses! Make sure there is a closet or space underneath the bed or the desk where people can hide if necessary. Messy rooms are the best; two students during 07.2 pretended to be a stash of clothes underneath the bed and remained undetected by the SRA.

   • At JHU, absolutely no cross-hall sleepover ambitions (ahem, Joe D.). This will surely result in the downfall of any sleepover hopes.

1. How to sneak in:

   Some RAs are rather lenient about sleepovers; a common policy is don't ask, don't tell. If your RA "allows" covert sleepovers, getting into buddies' room before lights out won't be a problem.

   • One really important note: if there is no one in the room, make sure all lights are out! If the lights in your empty room are on, suspicions will be aroused when an RA sees light coming through the peephole and knocks on the door. This is a recipe for disaster.

So, if your RA is strict about following the sleepover rule, sneaking out after lights out isn't very difficult either. Around 11:30, open the door a crack, check for RAs, then call your friend to tell him to come (or to tell him your coming). Be quick and absolutely soundless.

3. Behavior during sleepover:

No loud music, no loud talking, no yelling or screaming of any kind, no loud laughing, and always use common sense. If lights are on, put a towel over the crack beneath the door and block up the peephole. Talk quietly and always be on edge for signs of RA patrols.

4. If an RA knocks:

Be worried, but don't panic. Remember, silence is key. If the RA hears noise, he or she will start demanding the door to be opened immediately. Those not supposed to be in the room should immediately scramble into the predetermined hiding place (see tip number one). Open the door and remain nonchalant as the RA scans his eyes over the room. Keep your fingers crossed.

5. If you do get caught:

Punishment at 07.2 for illegal sleepovers was not as bad as expected. The 7-8 people involved missed out one activity period on the weekday. They were taken to the administrative office. They were forced to sit their silently for an hour. Arbitrary rules meant to make the punishment hell were created, such as no laughing, talking whispering, gesturing, reading, listening to ipods, drumming, humming, whistling, and blinking. Then, each student was given pen and paper and forced to write a page in which they apologized and described their motives and mindset prior to the sleepover. Students were forced to help with the worst of office chores. This included folding giant plastic tarps, sorting board games pieces into their respective box, testing markers to throw away the ones that didn't work, and sorting a pile of playing cards from a dozen incomplete card decks.