Hinmanites enjoy lunch together in their newly renovated dining hall.

Hinman College: A feeling of family

"Make sure you're eating." The impressive, banquet-like row of tables in the newly renovated Hinman Dining Hall is atypical of a family-meal setting, but Professor Al Vos, faculty master of Hinman College, speaks to Tulin Aldas '04 with fatherly concern anyway. They are sitting together with 30-some current residents, former "Hinmanites" and Hinman faculty who've gathered for their weekly fellows luncheon. These Friday lunches are especially set aside for Hinmanites old and new to catch up -- and, in the case of Vos' and Aldas' exchange, to also check up.

Everyone chats like old chums over trays of salad-bar creations and vegetarian cuisine. They cast friendly jibes at each other and talk about how much they miss Donna Denoncourt, Hinman's former assistant director, who recently left her position for an opportunity at Massachusetts's Lasell College. More than anything, the group comes across as one big family, sitting down to share a meal.

The Friday lunches have been a regular feature in all my years here, as they were before me," said Vos. Friday lunch group is a great way to help develop stronger connections to Hinman, he said, and also a way to maintain them when Hinman is no longer a daily part of life.

Hinman's fellows luncheon is just one of many programs, events and traditions that help make Hinman the tight-knit community it is. In the fall, Hinmanites participate in Dorm Wars, and spring brings Hysteria. Both events include races, scavenger hunts and co-rec football, and are often accompanied by canned food and penny drives, with proceeds going to charities. Each semester, each building's residents make banners that display their team spirit and also serve as decorations in the main lounge for semesters to come.

"I have all of my Dorm Wars and Hysteria shirts color-coded in my closet," said Valerie Lund '04, speaking of the T-shirts each building sports in competition. They range in colors from "eggplant" to "puke yellow," joked Donna Lazarus and Sylvia Jordan, both '03.

These team events provide a lighthearted means for residents to meet and interact with one another. "In the Dorm Wars scavenger hunt my freshman year, we were in desperate need of Snapple bottles," remembered Teresa Volino '04. "I went knocking on one suite door where they ended up having a bagful. We've been friends ever since."

Residents also have a chance to relax and enjoy one another's company on Open Mic Night every Sunday night in the Hinman Commons, a tradition that has been going strong for four years. The program invites both professionals and amateurs to display their talents, which range from musicians to interpretive dancers, according to Dimitri Bernadel '05, this year's Open Mic master of ceremonies.

The community has a great track record for student government: Hinman College Council's weekly meetings easily fill any of the five building lounges to capacity. "I don't think any community gets students out for government like we do," said Vos. Recently, Hinman has also produced two Student Association presidents: current SA President Jordan Peck '05 and Rebecca Patt '03, who held the office in 2002.

Hinmanites are supportive of its members' causes, as well. For example, Lazarus recalled when she asked the council for $200 to support the University's newly formed Mock Trial Club. She received $300. "The concept of an entire community supporting our little club by giving us more money than we requested and by praising and supporting us constantly was not only heartwarming, but truly extraordinary," she said.

The students may change, but "Hinman spirit and Hinman community have been pretty constant, because every year we work on maintaining it," said Vos. This may be why Hinmanites keep coming back for more.

Take Dave Berkowitz '00, for example. On top of founding the Hinman Alumni Network and serving on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, he has spoken at every Hinman commencement since his own in 2000, and boasts attendance at the past eight Dorm Wars and past seven Hysterias.

Berkowitz is far from an anomaly, however; many former residents still maintain their connection to Hinman. Why? As Berkowitz put it, "You're not a 'former' Hinmanite. People identify with Hinman for many decades after they graduate, so even if you don't live there, you're still a Hinmanite at heart."

-- Jeanette Duffy '04, student intern for the Binghamton Alumni Journal

Hinman Dorm Wars: It's alumni vs. students in this particular game of co-rec football during Homecoming 2003.

Hinman Dorm Wars On the weekend of Oct. 10-13, Hinman College gave meaning to the word Homecoming, with students and alumni alike getting together for the 2003 Dorm Wars, an annual tradition. Taking place over the course of the three days, Dorm Wars pits Hinman's residence halls -- Cleveland, Hughes, Lehman, Roosevelt and Smith -- against each other in challenges testing physical strength and creativity. This year's theme, "Hinman Through the Decades," gave the events an interesting twist. Each building had an assigned decade, ranging from the '50s to the '90s, which provided subject material for their multi-colored team T-shirts and their even brighter banners (each building makes one as part of the contest). Girls who went the extra mile and donned Spandex and side ponytails in support of the '80s team stood out. On the college's co-rec football field, with a clear and crisp autumn sky overhead and each building's felt banners displayed along the bordering fence, Hinmanites spent their Saturday competing in themed competitions such as Racing Back to the Future, Over Time, Under the Legs, Moonwalk Sneaker Find, Spinning through the Decades and the Time Pull Tug of War. On the more intellectual side, competitors had to be well versed in Time Travel Trivia. Hinmanites also lent a helping hand, participating in a canned food drive to benefit the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse (CHOW). Orchestrating the weekend's events was no small feat, according to Ashley Burback '06, one of the captains responsible for Dorm Wars' organization, but it was worth it in the end. "We had perfect weather and a great turnout," said Burback. "There was an equal turnout from every building." This year, Lehman was triumphant, followed by Roosevelt in second place, Cleveland in third, Smith in fourth and Hughes in fifth. No doubt there are scores to settle come Hinman Hysteria in the spring semester.