Prudence Risley Residential College for the Creative and Performing Arts, commonly known as Risley Residential College, Risley Hall, or just Risley, is a program house (themed
residence hall
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
) at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. Unlike most other dormitories on campus, Risley is a
residential college
A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship wi ...
; house members, or "Risleyites," have some say in the administration of the residence hall, can continue to reside there as long as they are enrolled at Cornell, are encouraged to eat together at the in-house dining hall, and participate in educational activities such as guest lectures within the dormitory.
The building houses 192 students, chosen by Risleyites from a number of applications, as well as one or two Artists-In-Residence ("AIRs"), who live in the building and organize regular programs in which the house members participate. The current Artist-In-Residence is Georgia O'Neil. Previous AIRs include Patrick Gray, Carolina Osorio-Gill, Natalie Tyler,
Abraham Burickson
Abraham Burickson (born 1975 New York City, New York) is an American poet and conceptual artist.
Life
Son of Sherwin Burickson, Abraham Burickson attended Cornell University, receiving a BA in architecture. In 2002 he moved to San Francisco ...
,
Gregory Halpern
Gregory Halpern (born 1977) is an American photographer and teacher. He currently teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a nominee member of Magnum Photos.
Halpern has published a number of books of his own work; ''Zzyzx'' won Ph ...
, and
Brandon Bird. Many famous people have visited the house for intimate discussions with the Risleyites, such as
Anthony Rapp
Anthony Deane Rapp (born October 26, 1971) is an American actor and singer who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of ''Rent''. Following his original performance of the role in 1996, Rapp reprised it in the film version ...
,
Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, and musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on historically info ...
,
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
, who hosted a question and answer session after the showing of his film ''
A Fish Called Wanda
''A Fish Called Wanda'' is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double- ...
'', and
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...
who continues to collaborate with Risley alumnus Kenneth James.
History
In 1911,
Mrs. Russell Sage donated $300,000 (roughly $7.5M in 2018 adjusted for inflation) to the University for the construction of a women's dormitory. At her request, the building was named after her
husband's mother, Prudence Risley. The building was opened to students in 1913. It was unusually luxurious, with sculptures and expensive furnishings in common areas, many of which were donated by Cornell co-founder
Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...
.
In 1970, under the guidance of Ruth Darling, the University converted Risley into a co-ed creative-arts-themed dormitory, the campus's first program house. Judith Goodman had been looking for a house to share with some of her more artistic friends. When she asked Cornell about the house she wanted, they said it had just been given away, but offered Risley instead. The cost of running the fancy all-female dorm was too much, and Cornell was going to shut Risley down.
After several attempts to develop an acceptable plan for running Risley as an arts dorm, and much Cornell paperwork aided by Darling, Goodman and her friends finally got her vision of Risley approved. In the first year, the college received over 1000 applications for the roughly 200 spots in the building.
Their system of government in 1970 is similar to the current one today, though there have been many amendments to the Risley Charter in the intervening years.
Notable former Risley residents from before the creation of Risley Residential College include
Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White (; June 14, 1904 – August 27, 1971), an American list of photographers, photographer and documentary photography, documentary photographer, became arguably best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take p ...
',
Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyric ...
,
Barbara McClintock
Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902 – September 2, 1992) was an American scientist and cytogeneticist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927. There s ...
,
Helen Reichert
Helen Reichert (November 11, 1901 – September 25, 2011) was an American talk show personality, New York University professor, founder of ''The Round Table of Fashion Executives'', and the oldest living alumnus of Cornell University at the tim ...
, and
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...
. Notable residents from after the creation of the Residential College include
Matt Ruff
Matt may refer to:
*Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt
*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance)
*Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
,
Mia Korf
Mia Korf (born November 1, 1965) is an American actress best known for originating the role of Blair Cramer, Blair Daimler Buchanan in ''One Life to Live''.
Early life and education
Korf is the daughter of mycologist Richard P. Korf and Kumiko (" ...
,
Jamie Silverstein,
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film ''Superman'' (1978) and three sequels.
Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, ...
,
Andre Balazs,
Madalyn Aslan
Madalyn Todd Aslan (born October 5, 1963) is an American-British writer, astrologer, and palmist. She is the author of ''What's Your Sign?'', ''Madalyn Aslan's Jupiter Signs'', and the forthcoming ''Naked Mother''. The New York Times dubbed her ...
,
Duo Dickinson
George A. "Duo" Dickinson, Jr. (born August 21, 1955) is an American architect. Based in Madison, Connecticut, he has built over 500 projects.
Life and career
Dickinson graduated from Cornell in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in Architecture ,
Andrew C. Greenberg,
David Conte
David Conte (born 1955) is an American composer who has written over 150 works published by E.C. Schirmer (a division of ECS Publishing), including six operas, a musical, works for chorus, solo voice, orchestra, chamber music, organ, piano, guita ...
,
Jared Emerson-Johnson
Jared Nathaniel Emerson-Johnson (born October 13, 1981) is an American video game music composer, sound designer, voice director and voice actor. Emerson-Johnson is the Music Supervisor and lead composer at Bay Area Sound, an audio production com ...
,
Adam Becker,
Yoon Ha Lee
Yoon Ha Lee (born January 26, 1979 in Houston, Texas) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, known for his '' Machineries of Empire'' space opera novels and his short fiction. His first novel, '' Ninefox Gambit'', received the 2017&n ...
,
Elizabeth Neuffer
Elizabeth Neuffer (June 15, 1956 – May 9, 2003) was an American journalist who specialized in covering war crimes, human rights abuses, and post-conflict societies. She died at the age of 46 in a car accident while covering the Iraq War.
Career ...
, and
Keith Raywood
Keith Ian Raywood is an American production designer best known as ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) Art Director since 1985 and its Production Designer since 1990. He has designed music videos and live performances for major recording artists, interna ...
.
Facilities
![Risley hall, backyard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Risley_hall%2C_backyard.gif)
As a dormitory, Risley offers a unique living experience. The
Tudor Gothic
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...
building itself is shaped like a large red castle, modeled directly on
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
in England. The architect,
William H Miller, was requested to design the floor plan such that no two rooms would be identical. Consequently, the rooms vary greatly. Sizes range from a single room that is 93 square feet (9 m²), a former maid's room, to a double room that is 273 square feet (25 m²), the largest double on campus. Room features include balconies, fireplaces,
dumbwaiter
A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry food. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restaur ...
shafts, secret stairwells,
bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room.
Types
Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...
s,
embrasure
An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...
s, and
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* Mi ...
s. At the request of
Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...
, the Risley
Great Hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
was constructed as a smaller scale replica of
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
's
Christ Church's own dining hall. According to campus legend, its gargoyles represent the fourteen stages of botulism.
In order to fulfill its purpose of encouraging creativity, the residence offers a variety of outlets. All residents have access to
Risley Theatre (the only fully student-operated theater at Cornell),
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
practice rooms,
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
s, workshops for
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
, digital
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
,
sewing
Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabr ...
,
letterpress
Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker comp ...
,
video editing
Video editing is the manipulation and arrangement of video shots. Video editing is used to structure and present all video information, including films and television shows, video advertisements and video essays. Video editing has been dramaticall ...
,
woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, woodworking joints, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with Rock (geology), stone, clay and animal parts, ...
,
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...
,
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
, and
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
, as well as a
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
, a
darkroom
A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...
, and a small
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
. Unlike other houses, the affairs of the building are managed by an elected student government, "Kommittee," which determines the budget, use of facilities, and allocation of funds. Kommittee even allows students to paint the interior walls of the building, which has resulted in numerous
murals
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
on all the hallways painted by the residents. On many Fridays or Saturdays throughout the school year, the students run a
coffee house
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non- ...
, "Tammany," where regional bands come to perform. Students have created numerous special interest groups/clubs to meet their interests including a debate society ("The Society for Individualists"), Superhero Club (commonly referred to as Ris-S.H.I.E.L.D.), and a classic video gaming group ("
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
Church") among others. Risley has a semi-known secret society, commonly referred to as Fork & Pancake, believed to be a band of mischievous night owls who terrorize the kitchens of the building.
Risley Theatre
Risley Theatre is an 81-seat
black box theater
A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...
built by Risley Residents in a converted ballroom left over from Risley's days as a women's dorm. Until 1971, it was used to teach dance as a part of the Women's Physical Education program. The seating was added in 1972. It is the only fully student-operated theater on the
Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
campus.
Risley Theatre is run by the Risley Theatre Subcommittee ("T-Sub"), a subcommittee of the governing body of Risley Hall, Kommittee. T-Sub meets weekly in Risley's Central Living Room (CLR). T-Sub is responsible for producing regular seasons in the space, allocating theatre resources, funding student-run productions, and managing the theatre space. Any member of the
Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
community is eligible to participate in T-Sub.
Risley Theatre has two seasons, based around Cornell's major breaks. Each season is planned out near the end of the previous season during a competitive process called "Play Selection." Any member of the Cornell and greater Ithaca community may submit proposals for productions during play selection to be included in the upcoming season. The theatre hosts a wide variety of productions, which have included
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
,
Shakespearean
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
plays, student works, and comedy groups in the past. Performances are open to anyone, and tickets can be bought at the door.
Traditions
The hall hosts numerous annual events. For example, on the weekend before
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
, students host a large costumed dance party called MasqueRave. Since 1991, on the weekend following Halloween, an in-house group, the "Denton Drama Troupe," has hosted a live performance of the
Rocky Horror Picture Show
''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 Musical film, musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White (producer), Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman an ...
in the Great Hall. Because both of these events draw hundreds of people, they generate the revenue that supports smaller projects. Other notable events include themed dinners, such as
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
Night, first organized in 2005 by Risley Resident, Charlene Morales, who was at the time a junior in Industrial and Labor Relations. The event included a menu akin to several beloved dishes, snacks, and drinks such as "butter beer" unique to the Harry Potter film, drawing over 200+ guests. All dishes were uniquely crafted by kitchen director, Lorna McNab. The event was so beloved by all that it was then decreed a tradition. Another notable tradition is the reading of
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
.
In addition to annual events, there are also several weekly events (programs), most of which involve free food. Kommittee allocates money every semester to fund events like Eat This!, in which one or more Risleyites cook food for everyone else on Wednesdays at 10:30PM, RisBrunch (RizBrunch), in which one or more Risleyites cook food for everyone else on Saturdays at noon, and Lost Coffee, in which one Risleyite makes coffee and tea, which is placed somewhere in the building along with some cookies, on Monday nights and sends out clues as to where to find it.
Legend says that Prudence Risley, affectionately known as "Auntie Prue," haunts the building, flickering the lights whenever she appears. Some doubt the stories, though, and wonder if these "hauntings" might actually be the result of old wiring and the imaginations of overtired students.
See also
*
Hutchinson Hall, University of Chicago
Hutchinson Commons (also known as Hutchinson Hall) at the University of Chicago is modeled, nearly identically, on the hall of Christ Church, one of Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of O ...
, another building with a hall based upon Christ Church's
Risley in literature
* ''
Fool on the Hill'' by
Matt Ruff
Matt may refer to:
*Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt
*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance)
*Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
* ''
The Salt Point'' by
Paul Russell
References
External links
Risley Hall official websiteThe Campus Life Risley PageRisley TheatreVirtual Risley TourPicture of Risley in 1919360* tour of Christ Church at Oxford. Risley's Great Hall is a replica of Christ Church's Great Hall.a collection of historical Risley photographsFreshmen move into Risley in 1960featured in
Life Magazine
''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...
{{Cornell
Cornell University dormitories
Art schools in New York (state)
William Henry Miller buildings
1913 establishments in New York (state)