Los Angeles
Location
The LMU site is located, as one may guess, at Loyola Marymount University in western Los Angeles. It is about three miles from LAX International Airport; the conning tower is barely visible from some parts of the campus.
Overview
First off. It's Los Angeles. The weather is always wonderful [but it does get cold in the mornings and at night], there's a Jamba Juice onsite, and wisps of Radiohead's "Kid A" flutter around the campus at all possible hours. What more could you want from a camp for nerds?
LMU has always been a kind of black sheep with traditions, not keeping many (to the dismay of easterners), until a great kid named Michael Sherwood brought an incredible passion and zeal in the summer of '01. In that summer, and through no easy means, he imported REM's 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)', 'Stairway', Gay Dad (I do believe LMU "started" this tradition), and Radiohead to the camp. Suddenly, there was light and energy. The abysmal food tasted better, the sky was bluer, the girls were wearing less clothing.
- Tidbit: "It's the End of the World as We Know It" was a staple at the LA venues in the early 1990s (LMU and, before that, the University of Redlands). Apparently, it died out sometime in the 1990s.
It should be noted that the playing of the canon and establishment of many of the eastern traditions in '01 was actually due to a former Lancaster student turned instructor in the young students program DJing the dances. He brought REM's 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)' and the associated dance tradition and helped to bring Passionfruit to Los Angeles. And Forever Young was not only on said instructor's computer, it was played at the proper time during each of the unfortunately small number of dances that summer.
There are three dances per session, all held on Fridays. There is always a Casino Night, some form of Water Day, Drag Day, and a talent show. Students observe Passionfruit early on the last morning of the session. On the last day of every second session, someone manages to dump something into Doheny Fountain, such as Jello powder, Tang, or liquid soap.
The site is considered moderately strict. Students now must be escorted at all times by a CTY staff member. Halls eat breakfast together (starting in summer 2003). RAs function on a rotation schedule during dinner so that students may move freely between the dining hall and their dorms. Up until 2003, there was no formal programming on Sunday afternoons; now students attend Non-Mandatory Fun on Sunday afternoons, a name coined by RA Tom Ryan in summer 2003. Student halls may order pizza for dinner on Fridays and/or Saturdays and are escorted by their RAs off campus to a supermarket on weekends if they behave well.
Students are forbidden from speaking to participants in other programs; the precedent set for this policy is due to rash interactions with other camps including (the notorious) guitar camp, various LMU sports camps, and the annual church retreat.
Given the university's proximity to the ocean (just 3 miles), the weather is moderate during the day and cool at night. Students and staff alike are advised to bring long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and a sweatshirt. They will never need a rain coat, as it rarely rains in Los Angeles between May and November. Humidity is seldom an issue and RAs and students need not worry about rain plans, unlike CTY participants on the East Coast.
The food is mediocre, with multiple instances of diarrhea and food poisoning throughout the years. Students are advised to bring alternative food stuffs to the site.
Dorms
- Huesman Hall: has urinals, no mirror or sink in room.
- Doheny Hall: no urinals, mirror and sink in room.
- Desmond Hall (undergoing renovations in 2006)
- Rosecrans Hall
- Whelan Hall: mirror but no sink in room
RAs
LMU is home to the legendary Boring Brothers and, of course, Tom Ryan.
Tommy Smith was an RA at LMU through the late 90s and early 2000s. He instituted "More Active Than Sleep (But you Probably Won't Break a Sweat)". Jesse Boring picked up the activity, then passing the torch to a former resident-turned-RA named Jessie Seiler.
Activities
The afternoon activities are the most interesting part of the camp. 'Enmity Bracelets', made of chains and spiky metal objects, decorated the ankles and wrists of many '04 LMU-ers. 'How to be a Central American Dictator' led raids on other afternoon groups such as 'Guerilla Warfare', wearing stylish red headbands and wielding water balloons. 'Down With the Man' started protests against every other activity held that day. CTY Protesting is another quirky favorite. In summer 2003, Mary Rieg led a cadre of students with bullhorns and yelling one-liners such as "BUSH CAN'T READ; WHY SHOULD WE?" In 2006.1, the instructor and TA of the International Politics class (both former RAs themselves at Saratoga Springs and LMU and Malibu respectively) ran CTY protesting, leading two dozen students in rounds of protesting several activities that day, such as quidditch, paper flower making, and silent reading. One student, dubbed Bill Clinton, shouted "up with facism!" into a bullhorn.
'Robot Wars', and 'Robot Wars II' were two duels originally staged between RAs Tom Ryan and Geoff Graham. Encased in cardboard armor, they clashed together in apocalyptic combat to the heavy beat of Rammstein. Tom Ryan explained that the activity originated back in summer 2004 due to two factors: one, the intrigue surrounding the concept of hippies walking around Oberlin College campus playing bad German techno music; and, then-office manager Jen Lockett complaining about having to dispose of cardboard boxes.
Another famous activity involves gluing stuff to RAs. Tom Ryan also created this activity in summer 2005 when RAs were instructed to limit activities to existing supplies in RA Heaven.
There is always silent reading and music practice. However the music practice rooms contain few pianos, including two in the same room. Undoubtedly the pianos are out of tune. There used to be a piano in the cafeteria (through 2003).
Wet and Wild Day usually takes place on the first Saturday. Usually there is a "Dry Side" for the wusses who go play in the bounce house, read magazine, or play cards. RAs can be seen roaming about the "Wet Side" with heavy-duty water guns. Students usually have to make do with flimsy plastic cups that they fill up with water. The first Saturday is ended with a Movie Night.
On the second Saturday, the Talent Show takes place. People with super-cool skits or not-very-great skills perform. Casino Night takes place after that. Some people play card games for 'money' while others run around doing weird and crazy deeds the RAs tell them to do for 'money'. A couple of people get 'married' (until marriages got cancelled they said it was 'CTY inappropriate' ). At the end every hall uses the money they have to bid for prizes like In-And-Out burgers or duct taping an RA of their choice to a tree. (In 2006 there was no bidding. Halls just got called up one at a time, starting with first place and working there way down, and each hall got to choose form the list of prizes.)
Sunday is usually a day of 'non-mandatory fun', although it is mandatory for you to go, you can read or sit around. It's usually like the daily and weekly activities that take place from Monday to Friday. Sunday is concluded with a [groan] two-hour study hall.
- In 06.2 the order of weekend activities was:
First Saturday: Quiz Bowl & Movie Night First Sunday: Non-Mandatory Fun with a Carnival theme Second Saturday: Talent Show & Casino Night Second Sunday: Wet & Wild Water Day
Dances
Dances take place on Fridays and the last Thursday of each session. During 2005, they took place at the Rosecrans Courtyard. Dances at CTY typically take a couple of hours before many people are really dancing, but eventually most people do dance. However, many boys can be seen sitting at the edge of the dance floor. During 2006, they were sitting on or even behind the walls around Sullivan Academic Center and RAs like JZ and Jason and Mike had to run around making them dance.
As of 2006, LMU does play "American Pie", "It's the End of the World As We Know It", "Istanbul", and "Stairway to Heaven" at every dance. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was semi-canon during session 2, where people formed a conga line that went in a spiral. Chants of "HARDER HARDER HARDER HARDER!" and sometimes "FASTER FASTER FASTER FASTER!" could be heard after the usual "die die die die live live live live sex sex sex sex more more more more!" during session one. People have pointed fingers at the Biomedical people, or Chemistry session 2 for this.
- Never add anything to the end of American Pie chants, only Lancaster people are allowed to do that
Courses
There are a multitude of courses offered, but not many advanced courses, i.e. Advanced Chem.
