When the North Quad dorms were constructed in the late 1940s, the focus was on practicality rather than aesthetics, at a CMC different in details, yet similar in spirit, to the CMC of today. Stuart Briggs, the first dean of students, maintained law and order amid a prank-loving student body, and Professor Orme Phelps ranked first in the classroom. Students played pin-ball at Stinky's, a 24-hour burger joint at Mountain Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, and gathered on campus for heated bridge tournaments, college glee club concerts, and impromptu football matches.

Today's students have traded pinball machines for Xboxes, and Stinky's for In-N-Out. Cell phones, e-mail, and instant messaging provide constant links to friends across the country or just down the hall. Laptops and CNN.com have all but replaced printed newspapers on campus, and online student message boards host lively debates on everything from national politics to the fare at Collins.

In keeping with the times, the North Quad, too, has gotten a facelift. Students returning to campus this fall found a renovated and expanded North Quad, including the addition of 32 beds in four new housing units, or "pavilions," attached to the main dorms. Construction began in spring and continued through summer, with final inspections complete and resident assistants moving in on schedule in mid-August, followed by a steady stream of students.

The North Quad renovation and expansion project was dedicated Oct. 4 with ceremonies that included remarks from President Pamela Gann; Vice President for Student Affairs Torrey Sun; and Kwame Yankson '04, the resident assistant in Appleby Hall, who presented a plaque to donor Matthew Shevlin '51. A reception and tours followed, highlighting the new Shevlin Lounge; the Kemp Pavilion, named in honor of bequests from Professor Arthur Kemp and his wife, Helene; and the Croul Pavilion, named for donor John V. Croul '49. A major grant from the J.G. Boswell Foundation funded the renovation and addition to Boswell Hall.

Croul recalls living in a downstairs corner room of Green Hall when it was new. He boarded a horse at nearby stables, and the saddle he stored over the bookcase provided unusual, but practical, guest accommodations. "When we gathered in my room," he recalled with a chuckle, "one of the guys would sit in the saddle."

The additions have made the oldest quadrangle on campus a larger community, now housing 284 students, nearly 26 percent of the student body. What was described in a 1951 Bulletin as the "serviceable presence of Appleby, Green, Boswell, and Wohlford Halls" has now become amenable to modern student life, even featuring laundry rooms with debit card-operated washers and dryers.

The four new lounges are a welcome addition to North Quad life—pre-existing North Quad lounges were converted into student rooms. Lounge space includes a game room, a study room, and a TV room, which Sun says will enhance CMC's dorm-centered social life. (See page 40 for Dean Sun's reminiscences of his 25 years at CMC.)

"North Quad has always been about atmosphere," says David Fingerote '04. "With the changes, more students will spend time there because of increased options for socializing and studying."

Despite the advent of instant messaging, it is the intimate nature of the campus that continues to draw students to CMC. Andy Byrne '04, a resident of Green, believes the suite arrangement at North Quad dorms encourages more face-to-face interaction, resulting in less instant messaging and more conversation. "North Quad is very friendly," Byrne says. "Everyone has the refuge of their room, but you also get to know the people around you very well."

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