Lancaster

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Lancaster
Arches South Ben.JPG
The Arches in front of the Dining Hall at F&M.
Site Information
CollegeFranklin & Marshall College
LocationLancaster, Pennsylvania
DatesSession 1: June 25 - July 14 | Session 2: July 16 - August 4
Years of Operation1982-2023
Avg. Number of Students320
Courses Offered
HumanitiesCognitive Psychology | Great Cases: American Legal History | Logic: Principles of Reasoning | Philosophy
WritingCrafting the Essay | Fiction and Poetry
MathCryptology | Number Theory | Paradoxes and Infinities | Probability and Game Theory | The Mathematics of Money
Computer ScienceData Structures and Algorithms | Foundations of Programming
ScienceAstrophysics | Chemistry in Society | FPHS Biology | FPHS Physics | Intro to Biomed | The Physics of Sports | Principles of Engineering Design | Zoology
Canon
High Holy (Upper) Canon"American Pie" | "Forever Young" | "Stairway to Heaven" | "In Your Eyes" | "Nightswimming" | "Bizarre Love Triangle" | Mr. Brightside
Lower Canon"Blister in the Sun" | "Oh L'Amour" | "Rock Lobster" | "Dr. Mario" | "James Brown Is Dead" | "Birdhouse in Your Soul" | "End of the World" | "The Time Warp" | "Always" | "Iris" | "Pokemon Theme" | "Anna Sun" | "I'll Make a Man Out of You" | "Icecream"
Unofficial Canon"Hooked on a Feeling" | "Juliet" | "Come on Eileen" | "Finale" | "For Baltimore" | "You Make My Dreams" | "Sandstorm" | "Raver's Fantasy" | "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" |
Site Specifics
TraditionsActing Improv | Blammo | CTY Holidays | Farmers Market | Fob | Last Supper | Monk Walk | Monty Python Madness | Quiz Bowl | Second Saturday | Silent Football | Talent Show | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Thursday | Turkey Hill
GamesAgreedball | Art of War | Basketball | Boobtag | Malkavian Poking Game | Scum: The Masquerade | The Game | The Really Game | Wanna buy a duck?
OtherCollege names | FNORD | GLOW | Island Coconut Chicken | Phone-flipping | The Schnade | Triannual Pizza Eating Contest |
Lancasterians
Student GroupsAlcove | Anti-Alcove | Asian Mafia | Bubble Stoners | DOD (Discussion Group) | Digiclan | Eish | First Dietz | Friends of the Rain | LLRT | The Logicians | Mattababy | Ruvenites | Thormanism
Student PositionsJester | Trinity (Session 1) | Holder of the Duck | Muse | Fiend | Jack Flash | Stripper | King James | Dancing Queen | Other Lancaster Positions
Famous StaffResidential: Adam Roush | Frank Wang | Rich Groff | Asher Collins | Instructional: Pomm and Timmer | Dr. Ted | Site Directors: Rich Schellhas | Brian Bloomfield
See The Essential CTY for cross-site articles.
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The Lancaster site is the oldest, most populated, most tradition-heavy, and essentially the most superlative (although not necessarily best, depending on preference) CTY site that is still in operation. It boasts a recently renovated campus and facilities, many air-conditioned dorms with clean bathrooms, improved food (from its horrid state in the past), spacious classrooms, excellent staff, and a vivacious and diverse student body. It also features some of the rarer Math/Computer Science and Science courses in the CTY program, supplemented by a healthful selection of Humanities courses. It is the only site with five dances and, with its many activities and tournaments, is one of the most intense sites in terms of utilized time - distinctly divided between in-class and out-of-class time - while still providing empty weekends for socializing and relaxation. Lancaster provides what is arguably one of the richest student experiences in the CTY program.

Location

The Lancaster site is held at Franklin and Marshall College, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lancaster is right in the middle of Pennsylvania Dutch country, but as a CTYer, you won't get the chance to do any Amish sightseeing, except perhaps on a weekend trip to the Farmers Market in downtown Lancaster (which is highly recommended, by the way). The rest of your time will be spent on campus, which at 55 acres is small but not cramped. The campus can seem a good deal smaller, though, during times when it is shared by other programs, including a number of sports camps. However, CTY is by far the largest presence at F&M during the summer.

Dorms

There are seven main dormitories which are or were used by CTY: North and South Ben (or Benjamin Franklin Residence Halls), Thomas, Schnader, Weis, Marshall-Buchanan, and Dietz. North and South Ben are each subdivided into four halls, and Thomas and Schnader both have north and south subdivisions as well. North and South Ben form the west side of the residential quad, flanking the dining hall, and Thomas and Schnader are on the east side. Weis Hall is located on the north end of the quad and often houses the staff. Marshall-Buchanan is on the south side of the quad. Dietz is inconveniently located all the way across Hartman Green, and its residents frequently lamented living there, though it has not been used for CTY since 2004. Since 2003, access to all the dorms is controlled by fobs.

However, the dorms that CTYers actually occupy change from year to year because of renovations at F&M. During the 2004 sessions, students lived in North Ben, Thomas, Marshall-Buchanan, and Dietz. In 2005, students lived in Schnader, South Ben, Marshall (males only), and Buchanan (females only with the exception of a male hall in the basement) while the office and medical office were housed in Thomas. In 2006, students lived in Schander, South Ben, Marshall, and Thomas, while the office and the medical office were again housed in Thomas. In 2007, students lived in North Ben, South Ben, and Schnader, with the instructional and administrative staff in Thomas. Schnader was completely female, while North Ben was completely male. South Ben had males in Kunkel, Klein, and Dubbs Houses, and females in Atlee House. In 2008, North Ben and Thomas were completely female, with Marshall and Schnader housing males. South Ben was unused due to construction.

All the dorms are air-conditioned, though the individual air-conditioners can be cranky and/or dysfunctional. One distinctive feature of the bedrooms in some buildings is their modular furniture. By properly positioning the wardrobe and dresser, the bed can be placed on top of both, creating a loft; ladders are provided in each room for this very purpose. This frees up a lot of space in the room, provided that you don't mind sleeping within two feet of the paneled ceiling. Occasionally, a student will fall out of a lofted bed, prompting the staff to enforce a "no lofts" policy. When this occurs, the RAs come through the halls debunking everyone's beds.

In 2006, North Ben was under construction during both sessions of CTY. This caused much annoyance among students whose Frisbees were lost in that area during 06.1. From the fourth floor of Thomas, at least two dozen Frisbees were visible at any one time. Also during 06.1, the trees in the sectioned-off part of the Quad were cut down. In 2007, CTYers returned to find that construction on North Ben was complete, along with a glass-walled extension known as Ware, which was used for activities such as talent show practice. South Ben underwent similar construction in 2008, and the RAs made light of the lost Frisbees by basing a carnival off finding a double agent who was throwing Frisbees into the construction site.

Dietz

Dietz is a dormitory that is only used when other dorms are under construction and unable to be used. It is inconveniently located in a secluded area across Hartman Green. The last time it was used was 2004 when First Dietz was formed.

South Ben

South Ben is divided into four houses: Atlee, Dubbs, Klein, and Kunkel. These four houses each have three floors. It is a great place to hang out given its many co-ed lounges (one at each intersection of Atlee/Dubbs and of Klein/Kunkel) and balconies.

Balconies

During 06.1, someone climbed from the second floor balcony down to the first floor, which angered the Site Director and led him to close the balconies for Session 2. People also dropped things off the balconies, such as fobs, cookies, and kickballs (it was a hall bonding activity), which is now a violation of the rules. Despite this, balconies reopened for 2007 and remained open, despite one student climbing out a window onto a locked balcony and other miscellaneous rule-breaking.

Atlee/Dubbs

Atlee/Dubbs 2nd is one of the most popular lounges on campus due to its many couches and ample space. It is the setting of many fun stories of many couch orgies. The historic twenty-person couch orgy was held there using the two couches (a two-person couch and a three-person couch). "CTY '92, capturing the hearts of many by Kodak color film" is carved into a windowsill in this lounge.

The third floor lounge was recently remade into what looks like a '50s diner, complete with shiny plastic booths and blatant coke advertisements on the walls, making it a popular hangout location.

Klein/Kunkel

The Klein/Kunkel lounges tend to see less traffic than the Atlee/Dubbs lounges.

Although Atlee/Dubbs and Klein/Kunkel must be entered though separate doors from the outside, it is possible to move between the two houses using the Dubbs/Klein basement (on the other hand, it is not possible to move between the houses using the corridors without undergoing repeated instantaneous sex changes). DK Base has a laundry room, a bathroom, and a large lounge which contains a television, couches, and a broken piano with the sheet music to Stairway to Heaven. However, the lounge is not always open, nor is the passageway. The couches are also particularly comfortable and squishy. Unfortunately, the basement has a tendency to be damp.

North Ben

North Ben is divided into four halls: Muhlenburg, Mull, Rauch, and Shaeffer. The dorms are nearly all doubles, (except for one triple on the end of Muhlenburg, which no one is generally assigned to but can be used for huge sleepovers) and are fairly large. North Ben was all male in 2007, but all female in 2008. Mull 2 and Mull 3 are used as co-ed lounges, and are generally less crowded than Schnader 1. Though not furnished as nicely as Schnader, both lounges have a balcony. Some activities are held in the Mull lounges. Recently, Mull 2 has been used as a practice area for Rocky Horror on Second Saturday.

Schnader

Schnader is most well-known for its first-floor co-ed lounge which has conveniences such as couches, chairs, tables, and the like. There is a large television in the lounge, but it is not usually on (or able to be turned on). The lounge is popular because of its large size, and because the furniture is nicer than that of any other lounge. There is also a small alcove across the hall from the lounge which holds two smaller couches and a coffee table. This space is usually used by anyone looking for a quieter atmosphere in which they can have private conversations. The Schnader 1 lounge is usually used for informal activities such as card games and lounging, but some official activity sessions are held there when it rains. Schnader First is also the site of the Passing of the Duck. Recently, all other Schnader lounges have been single sex only.

Schnader 1 lounge is encased in glass and overlooks Schnader's exceptionally large porch. This porch is also commonly used as a meeting point, especially during Quad Time.

Schnader is extremely humid, especially in the basement, and in 07.2, the damp climate in Schnader caused many students to develop a cold which became known as "The Schnade" or "Schnades." This quickly spread to the rest of campus. Despite the obvious and visible mold (one girl found a covering of mold in her trashcan that was over an inch thick) in the Schnader showers and dorms, no staff member has admitted mold as a possibly culprit. The (known) symptoms of the Schnade include a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, coughing up blood, vomiting, a bad sore throat, and a bad British accent. However, cases of pinkeye, pneumonia, chicken pox, sinus infections, and insomnia among the student body have also been attributed to the Schnade.

Thomas

Thomas alternates between being a student dorm and a staff dorm; the presence of the administration office also seems to vary. In recent years, Thomas has housed both administration and students. It has a downstairs co-ed lounge which contains a collection of newly-installed furniture. This lounge previously hosted the Passing of the Duck, but this event has been moved to Schnader.

The dorms in Thomas are organized into suites with accompanying lounges. Both double and single rooms branch off of these lounges, and there are typically three rooms per suite. These lounges are excellent for sleepovers and fort-building, such as the aptly named Fort Homoerotica in 2nd Thomas. In 06.2, Passionfruit Juice was kept chilled in an empty room on 2nd Thomas.

Marshall/Buchanan

Marshall/Buchanan, often referred to as Marshall/Buch, is the hall on the south end of the residential quad. Its front side faces out onto the quad towards Weis, while to its rear is Buchanan Park(which is owned by the City of Lancaster, not F&M). The Franklin and Marshall Public Safety offices are located on the first floor of Marshall/Buch.

Classrooms

Stager Hall

Stager (pronounced Stay-grr, with a hard g) is an academic building at F&M with three floors and a basement. Many humanities classes meet here, and it is usually where the first rounds of Quiz Bowl meet. Furthermore, activities such as chess tournaments, card/board games, and debate frequently meet here. Its facade is largely composed of glass, and many believe it looks a lot like a frog from far away! Stager's frogginess has earned it a variation of the "Wanna buy a duck?" game.

Stager is conveniently located near Jazzman's and the Bookstore. Classes occasionally use their breaks to buy stuff there. Thus, it is possible for a Stager class taking a break to see members of a class from another building that are using their break to buy smoothies.

In front of Stager Hall is the Chesapeake, a great place to sit or climb during class breaks. The sculpture, made of stone and steel, was created by California artist Woods Davy and installed at F&M in 1985. It is often referred to as "Sticks and Stones".

This building was originally called Stahr (pronounced like stair) Hall, until someone named Stager donated more money around 90 or so. Some of the old timers insisted on continuing to call it Stahr, or Stahr-with-a-silent-G.

Keiper Hall

Some math classes are held here, including the ever-popular Lancasterian favorite, Number Theory (often taught by Pomm and Timmer Session 2).

Many writing courses are also taught in Keiper.

On one of the rear exterior walls at the basement level there is a poem in some kind of orange chalk or paint pen (that was there from at least '88-93) that read as follows:

War, he sang, is toil and trouble
Honor but an empty bubble
Never ending, still beginning
fighting still and still destroying.
So if this world be worth the winning
think, oh think it worth enjoying

Other Parts of Campus

Arches

In front of the Dining Hall, there are a series of brick arches which provide support and protection from the elements. Many activities, especially those involving crafts, are held here. According to Adam Roush, two CTYers who met on the right side of the Arches (when looking at them from outside) in the 1980's eventually married, which is why the weekend Marriage Booth is always placed on the right side of the Arches.

ASFC

The ASFC (Alumni Sports & Fitness Center), sometimes affectionately known by its profane, phonetical pronunciation, is a gym on F&M's campus which CTY students may use. Activities such as Swimming are held here. If it rains on a Friday or Saturday, the dance will be moved from the residential Quad in front of the dining hall to here. As terrible as this is, students generally come to a consenus that the ASFC is vastly superior to the Mayser Gym (due to increased ventilation), where rained-out dances have very occasionally been held when the ASFC is being used by craft festivals. The ASFC is also generally the site of beginning-of-session registration, opening ceremonies, the talent show and closing ceremonies/parent conferences.

In 2004, the dining hall was being renovated, so CTYers had to eat all three meals in the ASFC. Further indignity was heaped on the students when, during the second week of the Second Session, a crafts fair was held in the ASFC, forcing the meals to be held in a circus tent on Weis Field. "The Big Top," as it was affectionately known by the administration, was almost universally reviled for its heat, lack of space, and implication that CTYers were like barnyard animals who were merely there to be led to the trough.

During 07.1, the very first dance was "rained" out and held at the ASFC. The next week, the RAs ran a survey by their kids to see if half the remaining dances could be held in the ASFC. A majority voted "yes," so for the rest of that session, the Friday dances were held in the ASFC. This, luckily, has not continued. However, in 08.1, the first two dances were held in the ASFC, and after the third dance, which was held outside, it was decided by the administration and the Health Office that the fourth dance would be held inside "because of the heat." RAs had to move the large stuffed chair that was to be used for the Rocky Horror performance that night from South Ben to the ASFC in an SUV. It was much hotter and far more humid in the gym than it was outside and several students and staff became ill from the heat. The final dance was held outside.

Hartman Green

Hartman Green is a (usually) grassy area on the Franklin & Marshall campus. Oftentimes, due to the summer heat and lack of sufficient watering, the grass turns brown. Such an occurrence has been known to cause CTY staff and students to affectionately call the location "Hartman Brown" for the remainder of the summer. Other times, the Green and the accompanying sidewalk are dug up to relay piping, but the area has never been called "Hartman Piping" or "Hartman Hole." It is a popular location for classes to hold breaks and includes numerous walkways for students with bad aim to throw Frisbees over (though doing this will usually get said Frisbee confiscated). Hartman is also the site of the Passionfruit and the Electric Tree, a tree with a power socket installed near the base of the trunk.

At the LAN.05.2 closing ceremony, the History of Disease and Archaeology classes performed a skit titled "The Excavation and Disease Control of Hartman Green."

Jazzman's

Jazzman's is a coffee shop located below the bookstore, right outside of Stager. Most Instructors will take their students to Jazzman's or the Steinman Center coffee shop at least once per session.

Mayser Gym

The other gym that CTYers use besides the ASFC is Mayser Gym. Those who sign up for basketball, volleyball, and some other sports for activities will go here. Occasionally, if a dance is rained out, it will be held here, but only if the ASFC is unavailable.

Due to a near-total lack of ventilation and the requirement that students remove their shoes before taking the dance floor, Mayser is the worst possible dance location. Because of this, a callback in its dishonor was created and added to the end of Sweet Transvestite on the Second Saturday.

Steinman Center

Steinman Center is home to the mailroom. The building is also host to a coffee shop almost identical to Jazzman's. The large rooms upstairs have hosted indoor tournaments in the past, such as the Super Poker Tournamoker in 05.2, and Swing Dancing! classes.

Weis Field

Weis Field is a large field behind Weis Hall where most of the sports activities and sports tournaments take place. Various classes have been known to go their to conduct experiments that were not as safe for the confines of a classroom.

Other Non-Parts of Campus

Students at Lancaster generally only leave the F&M campus to go to three locations: Turkey Hill, the sacred store; the Farmers Market, actually Central Market, where fresh foods, fudge, and collectibles can be purchased; and AYP, the world-renowned punk store.

Turkey Hill

Main article: Turkey Hill

Turkey Hill is a convenience store located, very conveniently, only a few steps off of campus from Weis Field. Students can go there to buy snacks, ice cream, and drinks. They can also go there to not buy condoms, which are contraband. Turkey Hill is referenced in "American Pie" in a callback to the line "I went down to the sacred store." It is where students go each year to purchase drinks for the Passionfruit.

Farmers Market

Main article: Farmers Market

The Farmers Market is known to real Lancaster residents as Central Market; to call it the Farmers Market is to be a tourist, but it is also to be a CTYer. Recently, CTY students have taken to calling it by its proper name. Students generally sign up on Thursdays to go on trips to the Farmers Market the following Saturday. There, after a twenty minute trek, students can purchase fresh fruits, bagels, fudge, novelty signs, pastries, and various other country goodies.

Angry, Young and Poor

Angry, Young and Poor, very commonly abbreviated AYP, is the world's bestselling punk store. It is headquartered and located solely in downtown Lancaster; it gains its esteem from its sales on the Internet. AYP is traditionally a stop along the way to Farmers Market on Saturdays. Only the later trips stop at AYP, because it tends to open quite late. Favorite products at AYP include hairdye, various studs, belts, hairdye, boots, hairdye, leopard print pants, skirts, hairdye, and hairdye. Students often stop here early on Second Saturday to stock up on makeup, clothing, and especially on hairdye.

Food

All students eat in the central cafeteria on campus. There are four lines and four dining rooms. See Alcove and LLRT for information on the groups associated with specific areas of the dining halls.

The features of the cafeteria include:

  1. Dining Room 1
    • KIVO (Kosher, International, Vegetarian/Vegan, and Organic)
    • This dining hall is closed at breakfast and every weekend from Friday dinner to lunch the next Monday.
  2. Dining Room 2
    • Main Line (standard style dorm food, usually meat, veggies, with rice/mashed potatoes, sometimes stir fry)
    • Vegetarian Line (which formerly offered a variety of vegetarian options and now (as of 08.1) serves nothing but pasta and macaroni and cheese)
    • Wraps Station
    • Soup/Salad Bar
  3. Dining Room 3
    • Grill (burgers, fries, etc.)
    • Pizza Station
    • Cereal
    • Microwave
  4. Entrance Area
    • Drink Machines
    • Dessert/Fruit Table

Lancaster is the only peanut-free CTY site. The staff and most of the student body take this very seriously, as an atypically large percentage of the population has peanut allergies.

Dining Hall

The Dining Hall once consisted of four main dining rooms. Dining Room 4 was synonymous with the Land of the Large Round Tables, or the LLRT. In 2004, however, the facilities were renovated, and students were forced to trek across the footbridge for meals at the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center.

As of 2004, only three main dining rooms remain in the F&M Dining Hall, in addition to the main entrance area, thus totaling for rooms. The room immediately to the left and right of the entrance (Dining Rooms 2 and 3, respectively) is where food is served, as well as where many students sit. Dining Room 4, two rooms to the right, has been converted into a special-events dining room and is not accessible from the regular dining hall and is thus not counted in the dining room totals. An exception to this general policy occurred during the Last Supper in 2007 and 2008, when Site Directors Brian Bloomfield and Debbie (respectively) opened the room for the event.

Dining Room 1, two rooms to the left of the entrance room, is the location of the Alcove, as well as Teh Corner and The Booth, two very nice corner booths, and as a smattering of tables. In 2007, this area was closed off, along with the beloved Alcove, for Kosherization. The Alcove relocated to a corner of Dining Room 2. In 2008, however, Dining Room 1 was reopened, along with its various protrusions. Dining Room 1 is now the home of KIVO and is only open for lunch and dinner on weekdays (except for Friday dinner).

History

Lancaster is one of the oldest CTY sites, and as such, has some of the oldest and richest traditions. Although the first OTID (Office of Talent Identification and Development, a former name for CTY) summer program was held at St. Mary's College in 1981 (1980, by other sources), it was held at Lancaster and Carlisle in the following year, and these two sites have been the oldest continuously running CTY sites.

Throughout most of its history, Lancaster has been the largest site at CTY, hosting over 500 students each session. Until the early-1990s, Lancaster's many courses were organized into five colleges: Humanities (e.g. Logic & Rhetoric, Latin, etc.); Maryland Academy of Sciences (e.g. Astronomy, Marine Ecology, etc.); Pre-Calculus Mathematics; Fast-Paced AP Biology, Chemistry & Physics; and Advanced Math, Computer Science & Misc. Each college was partly autonomous, with its own graduation ceremony, and, starting in 1987, its own t-shirts. Since then, the academic organization has been streamlined into three subject areas (Humanities/Writing, Math/Computer Science, and Science) with a single graduation ceremony.

Because of its size and age, Lancaster has seen numerous student groups and traditions arise; some of these can be seen above.

Courses Offered

Main page: Courses

Lancaster has had traditionally been a hotspot for math and science courses. It is the only site to offer Number Theory, Theory of Computation, Data Structures and Algorithms, Selected Topics in Advanced Biology, and Selected Topics in Advanced Chemistry. Lancaster is one of two sites to offer History of Disease, Archaeology, and Paleobiology, and in 2001, it was the first site to offer Cryptology. Lancaster also offers Fundamentals of Computer Science. Lancaster also has some strong humanities offerings, such as Ancient Greek and Etymologies, though it lacks the breadth of Carlisle in this regard.

Students

When adding to the list, please try to keep it ordered by nomore year, and sub-ordered by number of years attended.