Whitney Dupra, sophomore early childhood education major, won the Most Creative award for her room decorations in Kent Interhall Council’s Homestyling 2005 contest. Dupra said she will receive a $75 gift certificate from KIC. See page A7 for an additi

Credit: Jason Hall

Niki Novello, junior fashion design major, and freshman exploratory major Vanessa Sellers sit at their Coca-Cola table in their room in McDowell Hall. Novello and Sellers won the Best Theme award in Kent Interhall Council’s Homestyling 2005 contest for

Credit: Jason Hall

The King may have left the building, but he has yet to leave junior Niki Novello’s room.

Fashion design major Novello said she has been collecting Elvis Presley paraphernalia for longer than she can remember.

Her collection paid off last weekend.

Novello was one of 21 residents to enter her room in Kent Interhall Council’s Homestyling 2005 contest and compete for the title of best theme, best use of space and most creative. Novello’s room was selected for best theme.

“My room is centered around Elvis and Coca-Cola,” Novello said. “I’ve always had a lot of Elvis pictures.”

Along with pictures, she also has an Elvis cutout and a framed Elvis puzzle on her wall. Her decor includes a Coca-Cola shower curtain tacked to the wall and a matching metal table and chairs set.

Traci Sanders, KIC’s director of community development, judged the competing rooms last week. She said Novello’s room made an impression. Upon entering her room, Sanders said she was greeted, “Welcome to Graceland.”

“You walked in and you knew what she collected,” Sanders said.

Sanders said she is happy with the turn out for this year’s competition.

“It went really well,” she said. “This has been one of the biggest years for turn out.”

She said all on-campus residents were allowed to enter, and their rooms were considered as long as they didn’t violate any codes in the Hallways Manual.

Sophomore Whitney Dupra also entered the contest. Her room won most creative.

Sanders said Dupra’s room is unique because of her fabric use.

“She had these wonderful fabric patterns around the room,” she said. She said the canopy Dupra created over her bed is not something seen in many rooms.

Dupra, a Beall Hall resident and sophomore early childhood education major, said her room set-up helps make her feel at home.

“When I picked out my bedspread last year, I wanted something bright and cheerful because I’m so far from home,” she said. “I’ve always liked canopy beds.”

Making residents feel at home is only one goal of this program, Sanders said. She said another goal of this program is to encourage students to use the space in their rooms to the best of their ability.

Leebrick Hall resident Jackie Teeple won best use of space. Teeple, a sophomore pre-journalism major, said she was stunned when she first saw her room.

“Oh god – it’s a white prison cell,” she recalled.

Living in Leebrick Hall, Teeple said she knew she had to build up instead of using all of her floor space. The rooms in this hall are 9 feet 6 inches by 9 feet 2 inches.

Teeple said she invested in storage containers for under her bed and a bookcase to go along the wall.

“I figured I was using my space wisely because it’s comfortable for me,” she said. “You can’t do well if your not comfortable. It doesn’t allow you an area to focus. If I couldn’t be comfortable in my own room, I wouldn’t be happy.”

Sanders said she looks forward to running this program next year because of the successful response the program received this year.

“You can definitely see a raised interest (in the contest),” she said. “There was definitely something different, and we (KIC) are trying to figure out what that was.”

Students looking to participate in KIC or offer new program ideas should contact the KIC office in the Tri-Towers Rotunda.

Contact room and board reporter Stephanie Park at [email protected].