the guide FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015
One Desk, 31 Years JASMINE WHITE Hoya Staff Writer
ll, 1984 a H l l a n Dar 7) h ( S F S ’8 a r r a G c J im M C o u r te s y
See DESK, B2
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K C A B I AMIN CUDDE KEV 87 CAS
It was 1984, spring semester. Kevin Cuddeback (CAS ’87) lay underneath the desk in his tiny Darnall Hall bedroom, etching a message — a legacy. “Oh, kindred spirit lying on your back it is not imagination but originality you lack,” he carved into the dark brown wood. “To me it seemed the most natural thing that a place as old as Georgetown should develop a patina of gentle messages,” Cuddeback said. At the time, Cuddeback’s roommate Jim McGarrah (SFS ’87) had managed to whip out his camera to capture the moment. “I have many pictures from our [two] years as roommates at Georgetown — everything from him napping to horsing around with other residents to random shots of our dorm life,” McGarrah said. “As for this particular picture, I actually forgot it was in the mix. At the time I took it, it probably seemed just like another moment of hilarity and the camera was handy. Perhaps I hoped, in some less than fully conscious way, that it would be useful for when or if the story of his note surfaced.” The note did eventually resurface. It just took several decades for that to happen. When Brynne Long (COL ’19) first spotted the centipede crawling around in her bedroom, she never could have imagined the incredible discovery it would lead to. “I chased it under my desk. ... When I was laying on back trying to kill it, I saw writing,” said Long. Long and her roommate Juliet Ivanov (COL ’19) initially struggled to decipher the message, not only because of its illegible script, but also because it was more than 30 years old. The desk had been painted over and moved to a different room in Darnall Hall, so the note was nearly illegible.
THIS WEEK ARTS FEATURE
LIFESTYLE
Are You Game? Rangila 2015 returns to Gaston Hall after venue renovations JANE MIKUS
Hoya Staff Writer
‘Free to Rock’ Hits Gaston Hall
The documentary, following rock ’n’ roll in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, premiered at Gaston Hall. B4
FOOD & DRINK
Drag Queens and Brunch
Perry’s Restaurant offers an unconventional take on “dinner and a show” for Sunday brunch. B5
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
‘Made in the A.M.’
One Direction’s last studio album before its hiatus will not disappoint fans. B7
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Last year, students in the South Asian Society received an alarming message. The stage at Gaston Hall, the location where, for the past 19 years, they organized Rangila — a South Asian dance show — was structurally unsound. Contractors found that a group of more than 45 people on the stage could cause it to collapse. Rangila usually features around 500 student performers. The 20th annual Rangila dance last November took place on one night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which fits an audience of 2,300. This Friday and Saturday, the dancers will return for two nights to a newly renovated Gaston Hall stage to packed crowds of around 800 audience members. For many, the 21st Rangila, now sold out, represents a return home. “We’re coming home — that’s what it is for us,” SAS Treasurer Bhavya Jha (SFS ’17) said. “As a board, as choreographers and as dancers who have experienced Gaston, I feel like this is our stomping grounds, and these are our two nights to own it.” Many of the dancers, particularly those who are seniors, are
KATHLEEN GUAN/THE HOYA
See RANGILA, B3
The South Asian Society’s annual Rangila cultural show, which was held at the Kennedy Center last year, returns this year to Gaston Hall after the completion of the stage’s renovations.