The Risley Coat of Arms

Prudence Risley Residential College for the Creative and Performing Arts, commonly known as Risley Hall, Risley Residential College, or just Risley, is a themed residence hall at Cornell University. Unlike most other traditional dormitories on campus, Risley is a residential college, meaning that the house members, "Risleyites", are encouraged to eat together at the in-house dining hall, can live as house members for all four or five years they spend enrolled at Cornell, and participate in educational activities, such as guest lectures, within their dormatory. For this reason, Risleyites are generally seen as one of the closest knit group of hallmates on campus. The building houses 190 students who are admitted by applications that are reviewed by current Risleyites and two Guest Suite Artists, who live in the building and organize regular programs in which the house members participate. Many famous people have visited the house for intimate discussions with the Risleyites, such as John Cleese who hosted a question and answer session after the showing of his film A Fish Called Wanda. Download high resolution version (1256x546, 617 KB)Public Domain image taken by a Risley resident File links The following pages link to this file: Risley Hall ... Download high resolution version (1256x546, 617 KB)Public Domain image taken by a Risley resident File links The following pages link to this file: Risley Hall ... A halls of residence, British English (almost always halls and not hall) or a residence hall (North American English) is a type of residential accommodation for large numbers of students. ... Cornell University is a leading research university based in Ithaca, New York. ... A residential college system is a housing and educational aspect of certain universities across the world, most notably Oxford University and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Yale University, Rice University, and the California Institute of Technology in the United States. ... John Cleese as Q in Die Another Day. ... A Fish Called Wanda is a movie released in 1988 by MGM. It was written by John Cleese and directed by Charles Crichton. ...

History

In 1911, Rachel Sage donated $300,000 to the University for the construction of a women's dormitory on North Campus, an undeveloped section of the campus at the time. At her request, the building was named after her husband's mother, Prudence Risley Hall. The building was opened to students in 1913. Risley Hall Postcard 1910s File links The following pages link to this file: Risley Hall ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

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 would she like Risley instead? The cost of running the fancy all-female dorm was too much, and Cornell was going to shut Risley down. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

After several attempts to develop an acceptable plan for running Risley as an arts dorm, and much Cornell paperwork aided by Ruth, Judith and her friends finally got her vision of Risley approved. 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 include Matt Ruff, Janet Reno, and Christopher Reeve. Matt Ruff is an author who graduated from Cornell University. ... Janet Reno (born July 21, 1938) was the 78th Attorney General of the United States (1993–2001), and was the first (and, so far, only) woman to hold that post. ... Christopher Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, director, producer and writer renowned for his film portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent in four films from 1978-1987. ...

Facilities

Risley Residential College as seen from its courtyard

As a dormitory, Risley offers a unique living experience. The Tudor Gothic building itself is shaped like a large, red castle. When constructed, the architect 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. Various room features include balconies, fireplaces, dumbwaiter shafts, secret stairwells, bay windows, embrasures, and turrets. At the request of Andrew Dickson White, the Risley dining hall was constructed as an exact replica of the dining hall at Oxford's Christ Church's own dining hall. Harry Potter fans might notice that since the Christ Church dining hall was where part of the Harry Potter movie was filmed, the Risley dining hall looks almost exactly like the Hogwarts Great Hall. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 567 KB)Risley Hall, Backyard File links The following pages link to this file: Risley Hall ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 567 KB)Risley Hall, Backyard File links The following pages link to this file: Risley Hall ... A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. ... Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ... Dumbwaiter can refer to: a small elevator used to transport food or other items between floors of a building, see Dumbwaiter an American independent rock band, see Dumbwaiters (band) See also: The Dumb Waiter, a one-act play by Harold Pinter, written in 1957. ... A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. ... Categories: Fortification | Architectural elements | Stub ... Turret (highlighted) attached to a tower on a baronial building in Scotland In architecture, a turret (from Italian: torretta, little tower; Latin: turris, tower) is a small tower that projects from the wall of a building, such as a medieval castle or baronial house. ... Andrew Dickson White in 1885 Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American diplomat, author, and educator, most known as the co-founder of Cornell University. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... College name Christ Church Named after Established 1546 Sister College Trinity College Dean The Very Revd Christopher Andrew Lewis JCR President William Dorsey Undergraduates 426 Graduates 154 Homepage Christ Church, called in Latin Ædes Christi (i. ... Cover of the original novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. ... Cover of the original novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. ... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional school of magic that is the main setting of the Harry Potter series of novels. ...

In order to fulfill its purpose of encouraging creativity, the residence offers a variety of outlets. All residents have access to music practice rooms, pianos, an in-house theatre where several shows are performed each semester, workshops for art, digital music, jewelry, sewing, printmaking, video editing, woodworking, metalworking, stained glass, and pottery, as well as a recording studio, a darkroom, and a small library. 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 on all the hallways painted by the residents. On many Saturdays throughout the school year, the students run a coffee house, "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"), a theatre team ("Risley Theatre"), and a classic video gaming group ("Nintendo Church") among others. Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Look up Music in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikisource, as part of the 1911 Encyclopedia Wikiproject, has original text related to this article: Music Meta has a page about this at: Music markup MusicNovatory: the science of music encyclopedia The... This article is about the modern musical instrument. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Resources ArtLex. ... Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Look up Music in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikisource, as part of the 1911 Encyclopedia Wikiproject, has original text related to this article: Music Meta has a page about this at: Music markup MusicNovatory: the science of music encyclopedia The... Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... Turn of the century sewing in Detroit, Michigan An old sewing machine Sewing is an ancient craft involving the stitching of cloth, leather, animal skins, furs, or other materials, using needle and thread. ... Printmaking is a process for producing multiple original pieces of artwork; painting, on the other hand, is a process for producing a single original piece of artwork. ... The term video editing can mean more than one thing -- see: non-linear editing system, using computers electronic video editing, using videotape This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Artists can use woodworking to create delicate sculptures. ... Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create parts or structures. ... Strictly speaking, stained glass is glass that has been painted with silver stain and then fired. ... sex is great // Types of pottery Aesthetic and artistic considerations have often been part of the formation of the pottery vessels, however modern mass production techniques have replaced the traditional role of pottery with mechanized reproduction, which has in turn caused the potter to be more focused on the aesthetic... A recording studio is a facility for sound recording. ... A darkroom is a given space, usually a separate area in a building or a vehicle, for photographers to use light-sensitive materials to develop photographs. ... Modern-style library In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals. ... A mural is a painting on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface. ... A Street Cafe, Jerusalem, Henry Fenn (1838- ): steel engraving in Picturesque Palestine, ca 1875 A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or caf shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. ... Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂; (NASDAQ: NTDOY), (TYO: 7974)) is a Japanese company originally founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ...

Traditions

Risley's Dining Hall on Harry Potter Night

The hall hosts numerous annual events. For example, on the weekend before Halloween, students take advantage of the "eerie architecture" by hosting a large combination dance party and haunted house called MasqueRave. Since the late 1970's, on the weekend following Halloween, an in-house group, the "Denton Drama Troupe", has hosted a live performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Great Hall. Because both of these events draw hundreds of people, they generate the revenue that supports smaller projects. Other events include themed dinners, such as Harry Potter Night, and a reading of Handel's Messiah. Download high resolution version (986x714, 762 KB) Risley Halls Great Hall on Harry Potter Night 2005. ... Download high resolution version (986x714, 762 KB) Risley Halls Great Hall on Harry Potter Night 2005. ... Cover of the original novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. ... A jack-o-lantern Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting candy. ... Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ... A haunted house is a building that supposedly is a center for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena. ... The Rocky Horror Picture Show (first released in the United Kingdom on 14 August 1975) is a comedy-horror musical film directed by Jim Sharman from a screenplay by Sharman and Richard OBrien, who also composed the songs. ... Cover of the original novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. ... HANDEL was the code-name for the UKs National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. ... Messiah (1741) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. ...

Legend says that Prudence Risley, affectionately known as "Auntie Prue", haunts the buildings, flickering the lights whenever she appears.[1]. There are some who doubt the stories, though, and wonder if these "hauntings" might actually be the result of old wiring and the imaginations of overtired students. [2]

Risley in literature

• Fool on the Hill by Matt Ruff
• The Salt Point by Paul Russell

Matt Ruff is an author who graduated from Cornell University. ...

External links

• The Official Risley Hall Webpage
• The Campus Life Risley Page
• A Risley brochure circa 1976
• The Risley Lexicon
• Risley Purity Test
• Risley Theatre
• Virtual Risley Tour
• Picture of Risley in 1919