“People need to be the change they want to see in the world. If you want people to throw, then you should throw. If you want more parties, live at Craig’s and host more parties.” – Tessa Frantz ‘27
As someone living next door to Craig’s next year, I may be biased toward wanting lit neighbors and legendary parties. So I am hunting for a great group of five to share my senior year with. I hope that I can convince you to take my hand and run off into the sunset (N. Weber St) to start something beautiful.
As you may have heard, Craig’s does not yet have viable tenants for the 2027-28 school year (Gasp!). To the juniors reading this who have not signed a lease yet for senior year, now is your time to consider residing in the coolest off-campus house: Craig’s. And sophomores, you too might want to start planning for what your senior year could look like.
While sitting on the Craig’s porch looking out on Weber Street, I interviewed two of the senior ladies who live in Craig’s right now: Tessa Frantz ‘27 and Emma Serralles ‘27. I wanted to know what they had to say to juniors about what it is like to live in the iconic house. They made it clear that they think people should live in Craig’s and were persistent in saying that even though it is a party house, the reputation does not automatically mean that it’s a disaster to live in. The house has a cute and cozy front porch with a couch and a porch swing. When you walk inside, there is a nice open area with a dining room before you hit the kitchen. Lights lining the inside and outside of the house add to the homey feel of it all.
The cute and cozy feeling can prevail even during a party — a safe haven away from drunken partygoers who can be a lot to handle. “I feel like it’s the perfect balance,” Frantz said, “Being able to host and also having a wholesome house experience. You really have the best of both worlds where you can have people over whenever you want. You don’t have to throw too much, but you can if you want. And it’s just also a beautiful house. It’s really cozy. It’s really cute. And it just feels like a family in here.”
Serralles also pointed out that the inside of the house is actually quite nice. “I feel like it’s underrated. It’s a nice house inside; we have really nice wood floors and it’s pretty. It’s clean inside, which is nice and I think it gets overlooked because we’re a party house. But because we throw outside, it doesn’t affect the inside too much.”
She also added, “If you’re already going out, it’s really fun to be at your house and you can just escape; you can go on into your room for a moment. You can get a snack. You can do whatever you want, which I personally really enjoy. It does give you a little bit more flexibility. And if you’re really in the mood to go out, but nothing’s happening, you have all the power to make it happen.”
So many parties on this campus have been put on by the amazing hosts at Craig’s and even though many might argue that dealing with the aftermath would be too much of a pain, the Craig’s girls say otherwise. Serralles noted, “People think it’s a lot more work than it is. Cleaning up, yes, but if anyone’s lingering around, we’ve had no issue asking them to pick up some pieces of trash before they leave and it’s kind of fun, honestly.”
Frantz added, “But if it’s outside, genuinely, what are they gonna do? [The bathroom on the inside] gets dirty for sure and obviously used, but it’s a price I think we’re all willing to pay because we like going out and we like hosting and we’re willing to do that.”
I think the common conception on campus that discourages many potential tenants is that the people living in Craig’s should be “cool enough” to do the job. But let me be the first to tell you, you don’t need any special status to live in the most well-known hosting house.
Frantz and Serralles both added to this, saying, “I feel like people just don’t want to throw and don’t want to take responsibility for providing people with a good time. But in reality, it’s really not that much work and I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to do that, because it’s awesome.”
“I think anyone can live here. In fact, anyone should, but if you do live here, I think you should be able to continue the legacy of having parties and contributing to CC campus culture,” Frantz said. “And so I feel like that is really the only criteria. It doesn’t matter who you are; if that’s your goal, then, by all means, please, please come live here.”
There should not be a stigma around the social status you may need to live at Craig’s. As long as you host a decent amount of parties, people will never be mad about who lives there.
Serralles wanted people to know that even when it feels like you might need status on campus, that’s not necessarily the most important thing. “I feel like [Craig’s] has such a name and legacy that you don’t have to be a super big going-out person or someone that a lot of people know. Because as soon as someone says, ‘Oh, Craig’s is hosting,’ everyone knows the drill and knows the vibe.”
My greatest wish, aside from everything else that I stated above, is for an amazing senior year. We, the class of 2028, cannot be the ones who let the Craig’s legacy fade. If we come together now, there is hope for next school year.
Please email me at c_hammer2024@coloradocollege.edu if you’re interested!