Ah, Move-In Day. An August day so humid, that one could break a sweat even if he or she wasn't lugging heavy bags and furniture up flights of stairs. Students across campus fill empty rooms with their belongings and begin to call these rooms, suites and apartments in University residence halls their homes. Most students view their dorm rooms as a temporary pad, to be used and abused before they move on to their own places. But the buildings that hold students are more than just buildings; they hold the history of the campus and the stories of those who lived there. They also hold a promise for the next generation of Brandeis students who will come through and make these rooms their own.

Rumors run each year about one of the oldest quads on campus, Ridgewood. This group of 4- and 10-person homes has seen decades of students come and go. Recurring gossip suggests that the quad may finally be on the way out.

"Each year I've been here, someone says that they are going to tear down Ridgewood, but so far I haven't heard anything concrete," Residence Life Director Maggie Balch said.

Either way, until plans are finalized, Ridgewood will be home to many upperclassmen. Heikki Jaason, the quad director for both Ridgewood and Ziv, only came to Brandeis two months ago, yet he said he has already found Ridgewood filled with a variety of students.

"Ridgewood is wonderful for students who want to be on campus but need to be more independent-the kitchens help foster that," Jaason said.

Balch also commented on the different roles each residence quad plays on campus. First-year quads help new students get situated, meet different people and deal with the many issues that the transition into college brings, as community advisers are instructed to hold activities to help students adjust to college life. In sophomore quads, CAs and quad directors focus on getting students more involved in activities and more those concentrated on their studies. Juniors and seniors receive help preparing rsums and thinking about life after college.

Balch emphasized that the residence halls are more than just a place to live. She sees them as the first place where students get connected to life at Brandeis; with the help of good programming, she added, students' needs can be met in their dorms.

All of these specialties are reasons behind the class-based housing system. While some schools such as Wesleyan, according to its Web site, have options such as the "German Haus" or the "Out House," an outdoors oriented house. Brandeis organizes housing by students' year in school.

"There are huge benefits to having housing organized like this," Balch said. "Each year has different needs. It's very validating to be living with people who are going through the same life adjustments as you are."

However, she added that the Residence Life staff is open to changes. This year, Brandeis followed a student's proposal to start neighborhoods in East and the Village. The proposal was modified from its original plan to limit the amount of pull-ins, but the move, Balch said, shows a clear interest from the department to be open to the needs of students.

Balch has her own ideas for various housing options. She wants to begin themed housing or special-interest floors for students engrossed in anything from athletics to ceramics. She hopes also to tie in faculty for special programs with these floors. For example, a music-oriented floor might go with a music professor on symphony outings in Boston.

"Students have healthier lifestyles when they can go out with peers that have similar interests. When you are happy outside your academic life you tend to be happier academically. You start a different kind of tie to the University," Balch said.

While some Brandeis staff are looking toward the future of housing possibilities, others are looking to the past. Cliff Hauptman '69, who works for the publications department, remembers a very different campus from the one where we live now.

Hauptman lived in Ridgewood during his sophomore year.

"It looked really different back then," he said. "They had these wooden sunshades that we used as balconies. We used to sit on them on sunny days and play music into the quad. Now I think they've changed the entire facade."

Hauptman recalled that Ridgewood was designed by the Finnish architect Eero Saainen and was built in 1950. Saainen was known for designing the TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Saainen designed the first master plan for the campus, but it was quickly abandoned.

Hauptman also remembers the Ridgewood cottages, three buildings adjacent to the quad bought by the University and initially used as housing. Investors planned to sell the cottages if the University didn't survive its first few years. When it became clear that the University was going to continue, the cottages stayed as themed housing-first women's housing, then for various sports teams.

Finally, they were converted into space for the Lydian String Quartet, the Ethics Center and the Publications department. When Hauptman came back to work at Brandeis in 1991, he often found himself walking by his old dorm on his way to work.

The cottages were torn down and replaced by the Village. Rumors about Ridgewood's removal have perhaps sprung from the removal of its next-door neighbor.

Since these cottages and Usen Castle were on campus grounds before Brandeis was founded, they could be considered the oldest dorms. However, Ridgewood, built in 1950, was the first quad built by the University. According to Building a Campus: An Architectural celebration of Brandeis University's 50th Anniversary, the buildings were originally intended for married and graduate students.

Ridgewood isn't the only quad with a long history. Other quads have stories of their own. According to Balch, East was once split into suites. Now,with its long corridors of single and double rooms, East could be called a mixing pool for nearly half of the sophomore class.

"Part of the beauty of East is how students get to meet so many people they wouldn't have otherwise. You really get to expand social circles," Balch said.

According to Building a Campus, Massell, North and East Quads were built shortly after Ridgewood. Within a decade of Brandeis' founding, the school's architectural layout-at least as far as dorms-resembled its current form. The Castle was used as a women's dorm for many years, and has always been a campus landmark.

Living in a Brandeis dorm gives each student an opportunity to connect to the history of the school as well as to its past students. With each generation, the campus evolves, leaving future students a legacy to enjoy.

Hauptman recalls walking through the Ridgewood quad just a few years ago.

"I got the strangest sensation that I had stood in that exact spot when I found out L.B.J. wasn't going to run for president a second time. It was amazing to feel so connected to one place that had defined my life so many years ago.