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Yello House lives... for time being
By Hobait Anthony
5408 w. Friendly is not
just any run-sown looking house
which you pass and think, "Gee,
that place really should be con
demned." As amatter of fact it al
ready has been condemned, but the
residents are not so willing to al
low their home to fall by the way
side.
If you haven'talready fig
ured it out, 5408 is otherwise known
as the "Yello House," the home to
consecutive groups of Guilford stu
dents since around 1979.
It may not keep this sta
tus for long though, as the city
inspectors have prescribed signifi
cant renovations if it is to be occu
pied.
In April of '9l, the city
inspectors decided to randomly
inspect the house and found the
place in and advanced state of ruin.
The inspector encouraged that thor
ough work and cleaning be done to
the house to maintain its livable
status.
With this in mind, the
reidents hauled away about five
truckloads of random junk, re
placed the garden-hose plumbing
with PVC pipe, replaced the then
dilapitaed porch, and even re
painted the house to its original
yellow.
All seemed to be going
wwll until spring of *92, when the
inspector tool a look at the wooden
supports which hold the house off
the ground. According to the
present codes, only masonry pil
lars will suffice for supports.
Moroccan student lands in belly of mammoth
By Anwar Ouazzannl
It's 7:00 am. After a long,
sleepless night of packing, remember
ing the past and worrying about the
future, here you are at the airport,
waiting impatiently for the plane.
You don't really know
what's going to happen next It's too
late to change your mind. You break
into a sweat. You can't distinguish
cold from hot
This plane, your plane, is
going to take take you away to this
huge and imposing elephant, called the
United States of America.
It's 5:oo pm. You feel like
you're in the stomache of a mammoth
but it's just J.F.K. airport. Mummy,
daddy, Hicham and Michele are asleep
by now. They're in their own quiet
beds while you have to transport un
wieldy trunks laden with all your
wordly possessions to La Guardia air
port
Dimensions
The inspector couldn't
concieve of college students re
building a foundation, so he con
demned the house, leaving the resi
dents ten days to vacate.
Undaunted, the residents
jpetitioned housing officials for one
more month so that they could
finish the school year. When their
request was granted, the residents
met with local contractor Lyndon
Bray who was able to give sound
advice and help secure another
work permit.
Presently, the residents
and those who have volunteered
their time are spending their week
ends rebuilding the foundation,
cleaning, painting, and taking care
of other odds and ends which need
attention.
But why have thes people
devoted so much of their time to a
house which many people frind to
be and eyesore and a health haz
ard?
The reason is simple: they
simmply love the Yellow House
and speak of an overwhelming
sense of community present there.
In addition, T.J Crook
says, "The house should be pre
served for its role as a historical
part of the Guilford Community."
The brand of community
at the Yello House focuses on fru
gality. The house has no heat, the
residents fix inexpensive, vegetar
ian meals for one another- none of
which gets thrown away- and all
recycleable manterial is dutifully
taken to the recycling center.
The residents all think of
one another as family members,
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You don't even realize what
is going on. You can't think, you just
react. Your plane leaves at 6:30 PM.
You must take it. If not..
La Guardia, where is it?
What is it? You have 30 minutes to
figure it out, and you don't even under
stand their language.
Come on take it easy, you
can do it. All these Martians scurrying
Features
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Photo by Christina Copeland
Yello House, longtime home to Guilford College bohemiari living, has yet again
fended off the safety inspector. Here residents work to reinforce the foundation of
the house, which many know as home of the Funky Formal.
and those who have lived there in
the past always feel free to stop by
at their old home.
This emphasis on com
munity and global-conscious liv
ing make the Yello House "The
closest thing Guilford has to a co
operative living system,"Jason
Reep, a former resident, says.
Not only have the Yello
House residents managed to main
tain an alternative lifestyle to that
of Guilford and the mainstream of
society, but they have also added
around the airport seem to know what
they want and where they are going to.
Whynotyou?"Airport?...Ah, planes...
VVOUH, VVOUH... Right?
Left?...AH! Here, there! Sank Yu!"
You don't know how you
did it! You are on the 6:30 plane. You
didn't even cry. Your mind and your
heart are disconnected. Neither of them
knows what the other one thinks and
feel, but al least you're on the right
plane going in the right direction:
Greensboro, North Carolina. Let's
sleep...
Like almost all international
students, that's something like what
I've experienced incoming to the U.S.
I bet you want to know if
I've "got it" now? Well here I am
competing with other U.S. students in
two political science classes at Guil
ford College, writing (trying to), tutor
ing French, taking Interlink courses
and trying to get an internship at aT. V.
Station!
During the first days, in this
to the weekend social life of main
campus students.
In addition to informal
parties, the Yello House has also
started a tradition of the "Funky
Formal," a controversial annual
party which has been criticized for
being "exclusive" in its use of invi
tations.
The residents are quick to
react to such charges, explaining
that the party was intended to be a
satire of "high saciety" formal par
ties and that the invitations are
country, I felt like I was the stupidest
man in the world. In time I was able to
understand, but still I said and did
tilings I didn't mean.
Frankly sometimes I thought
my country, Morocco, and my culture
were the best (sorry!); like a fish in the
air I need my water. But now I'm a bird
in the sky.
It all happened because of
many people and Interlink. Ya'll made
me understand your culture, and helped
me to get through culture shock.
The richness of a commu
nity such as Guilford's comes from its
people. No matter what the differences
are, everybody's creating a better
world. Sometimes a smile is enough.
For instance, Interlink has
introduced me to an American family
who became my host family and made
me feel at home.
Also many other interna
tional students, who remember how
hard it was at the beginning are work
ing hard to create an international un
September 10,1992
only part of that satire.
"Everyone who is inter
ested is invited," Chris Warren
explains.
Displaying a strong com
munity bond in the face of adver
sity, the residents of the Yello
House show what can be done when
a group pf people come under a
common goal.
Further, The Yello House
adds a certain flavor to Guilford,
an off-campus example of how
people can live in the "real world."
derstanding on our campus.
Jessica Rakower, for ex
ample, is a member of the S.O.S orga
nization which helps the first year stu
dents to feel at home. She's also an
officer of the International Relations
Club. This club, she says, is an oppor
tunity to share the same experience
with other international students, and
most importantly, to meet U.S. stu
dents. The IRC welcomes any stu
dents. "No matter where you come
from, we are family" Jessica says.
She's introduced mc to many
other students and she has many ideas,
like organizing international dinners,
international movies, a Christmas
interexchange party and a carnival to
make us meet each other!
It is a cultural exchange such as this
that helped me to adapt myself to this
different world.
Now several days later in
Greensboro, I realize dial the plane I
took helped me to make a moral trip as
well as a physical one.