Dorm room creativity rewarded

On one wall is a poster of N'Sync's Lance Bass. On another is a giant stuffed bass.\nFreshmen Christine Boone and Shanda Sasse are proud of their dorm room. \n"You have to be in our room to see the ultimate coolness of it," Boone said.\nThe decoration of their room was somewhat of a compromise.\n"I am a big fan of fish and my roommate is a big fan of N*Sync, so we combined our interests and made a really cool room," Boone said.\nResidential Programs and Services is rewarding students who take pride in their dorm rooms. Last week, 77 rooms were judged for their creativity in decoration and function for RPS's "Best Rooms" contest.\nStudents in all 77 rooms that entered won prizes. They received a ticket to "Les Miserables," a pizza party or a PhotoFrost cake from RPS. Winners were notified by e-mail Friday.\n"A lot of the rooms reflect the personalities of the people living there," said Pam Sprong, RPS assistant director.\nOne of the judges, Joshua Gray, a graduate assistant for RPS marketing, said the rooms were difficult to judge.\n"What made a winning room wasn't the stuff put into the room or the money," Gray said. "It was the time or the effort -- people were making rooms that were them; (that showed) who they are."\nOne of the easiest and most effective room modifications, Gray said, was adding paint or texture to the walls.\nBesides the fish theme, Sasse and Boone's room features pictures of family and travel destinations and a stop sign they insisted they did not steal.\n"(Our room) is overflowing with creativity and expression," Sasse said.\nSophomore Meghan Cannon said a 48 by 52 inch mural painted by her mother is the first thing you see when entering her room. Then you'll notice the origami birds hanging from her ceiling, she said.\n"I'm very creative and original," Cannon said. "I love art. My mom's a professional artist."\nCannon said "Les Miserables" is her favorite musical, but she was disappointed she won only one ticket.\nSophomore Patrick Steinkuhl had a similar dilemma.\n"What's a guy gonna' do with one ticket?" he said. \nThe first thing one notices in Steinkuhl's room is his couch, with its fake dalmatian fur, he said. Then one notices the sound of running water -- he has four fountains. He's also proud of his wall adornments: American flags, a tie-dye tapestry and a Chemical Brothers poster.\n"I'm very political," he said.\nBut students said it's the little things in dorm rooms that show an individual's personality.\n"I have a clock above the door that I'm kind of proud of," Steinkuhl said. "I like my clock"