Baltimore

Baltimore
The main "bell tower" of Gilman Hall.
Site Information
College	Johns Hopkins University
Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Dates	Session 1: June 25 - July 14 | Session 2: July 16 - Aug 4
Years of Operation	Early 1990s?-1995 | 2001-present
Avg. Number of Students	260
Courses Offered
Humanities	Beyond the Binary: A Cultural History of Gender | Global Politics: Human Rights and Justice | Human Nature and Technology | Laws and Orders: Legal Systems Around the World | Persuasion and Propaganda | Playing God: The Ethics of Human Subjects Research |
Writing	You Will Be Offended: Satire, Comedy, and Public Discourse |
Math and Computer Science	Fundamentals of Microeconomics | The Mathematics of Competitive Behavior | Topology |
Science	Astrophysics | Advanced Topics in Physics: Special Relativity | Cryptology | Epidemiology | Investigations in Engineering | The Global Environment |
Canon
High Holy Canon	American Pie | Stairway to Heaven | Mr. Brightside | Iris
High Canon	Don't Stop Believing | Sandstorm | Cha Cha Slide | Come On Eileen | Forever Young | Tunak Tunak Tun
Middle Canon	Wobble | Bohemian Rhapsody | For baltimore | Cotton Eye Joe | Istanbul (Not Constantinople) | I'll Make a Man out of You | Time Warp | Stacey's Mom | Bad Romance | Can't Hold Us | Sweet Caroline | Blister In the Sun |
Lower Canon	Nightswimming | How far we've come | Every Time We Touch | Fireflies | Anna Sun | Closing time | Somewhere only we know | Numa Numa | Satisfaction | Heartless or the hills | Long live | Pokémon Theme Song
Site Specifics
Position-holders	Empress and Emperor | Prince and Princess of the Blood | Games God and/or Goddess | Rave Monarch
See The Essential CTY for cross-site articles.

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The Baltimore site utilizes the actual campus of Johns Hopkins University. Although it houses the main administration for CTY, it was not made into an actual site until fairly recently. It is also considered the strictest site, and has the fewest traditions. Baltimore is infamous among CTYers at other sites for passing down controversial new rules.

--Dorms--

The girls' and boys' dorms are known as ANMR I and ANMR II, respectively. ANMR I houses the administrative headquarters, as KW does at Carlisle. Both quads have very tight security, and are guarded at all times. However, there is a labryinth of tunnels and hallways underneath the two buildings (and the rest of the campus) and possibly a secret passageway between the two.

The lawn used for Meet Market and outdoor activities is known as the Gentle Slope. It borders ANMR I, ANMR II and the cafeteria, and is surrounded by a brick walkway and park benches.

--Dances--

As of 06.1, Baltimore now has a set canon (not in order):

• American Pie - Don McLean
• Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
• Blister in the Sun - The Violent Femmes
• Everytime We Touch - Cascada
• Sandstorm - DaRude
• Forever Young - Alphaville
• Let It Be - The Beatles

As of 07.2:

• Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's (subject to change)
• Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin (subject to change)
• Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations

As of 08.1:

• Cotton Eyed Joe - Unknown

In addition, the dances only last until 9:45, rather than 10:30 (note: the dances now last until 10:30), and songs will get partially played after American Pie as everyone is leaving.

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Baltimore. Well, what everyone says about the lack of traditions is quite true, and it's also true that the RAs are generally very strict, although some RAs may be very, very laid back. In 07.2, flashlights and sleepovers were banned (*gasp*), although with a bit of sneaking around and hiding you could manage to get into each others' rooms. The ban against sleepovers has been removed as of 08.1. Neighboring dorm rooms could also tap messages with Morse Code through the wall. Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin, and Ibuprofen were all confiscated by RA's, but it's handy to stash a few in your pillow or wardrobe just in case. However, there is a vending machine with such medications.

The food was a lot better 07.2 than that of other years, there being French fries, pizza, grilled cheese, hot dogs, pasta, and a sandwich and salad bar everyday. The macaroni and cheese was amazing, but it was terrible in 08.1. The scrambled eggs got runny and goopy though... and the food was basically the same thing every day. There's also a person who serves ice cream.

Dances played sub-par music, much to the dismay of most of 07.2. It is true that a canon is starting up, as far as I know. Song requests have been taken advantage of, with Tunak Tunak Tun being introduced in 08.1. Glowstick raving was also introduced during "Sandstorm" in 08.1.

How to Survive an Illegal Sleepover

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Okay, I have been here. It's not too bad, and it may be the strictest, but it's really not as bad as it sounds. The fobs work all the time, at least they did last year (2005); however, TAs patrol it. However, with deception, underground tunnels, and a bit of pad-footing, you can get back to your dorm. There is no canon, as mentioned, but the songs aren't too bad. The quad is pretty good, and there are French fries and hamburgers every day. The dorm rooms are also very nice, with carpets. Plus, there is a whole building for all the boys and one for all the girls, so you don't have to stand by the door to your friend's building and shoot rubber bands at his window usually.

There is one thing JHU is famous for: Benedict! Hi, Benedict/ Zeus, I hope you're reading this, but you probably aren't. I was the friend of that guy you wanted to "run for Benedict next year."

Who is Benedict? He's famous, that's who he is. Why? I don't know. He's famous for being famous. He went around to all the dorms, writing "Benedict Day" on all the holiday calendars for the middle Wednesday. Not much happened on Benedict Day, except for Benedict sneaking up on people and yelling, "Happy Benedict Day!" If you plan on going to JHU, perhaps you should run for Benedict!

But it's no Lancaster; this is like CTY for trainees. If you go to Lancaster your first year, you could drown in the overwhelming tradition! Of course, if you go to Baltimore, you could drown in the overwhelming lack of tradition. -Max K.