Conversation with 417 Hall art competition contestant who is also an art major

Freshman Julian Arnold's eccentric reputation precedes him, as does the dog tag-like jingle of the chains on his baggy black Tripp pants. When he isn't drawing in his sketchbook or practicing sword plays with the other members of Evangel's Medieval history club, Arnold can be found in the commuter lounge, sipping on complementary apple cider made in the Keurig and bantering with his friends.

The mountainous sunset landscape Arnold entered into the competition was a repainting of a page from the art journal he maintains for class.

Arnold sits across from me in the lounge, hands steepled and eyes narrowed. I ask him what he likes about the 417 Hall community. He seems to rummage through the chaotic studio of his mind, choosing words thoughtfully and mixing them together like acrylics on his palette. "Where to begin? The commuters are, in a single word, wild—and I mean that with all of the compassion and adoration and sincerity that I can muster," Arnold says. "The other halls [each] seem to form their own families, but as commuters, we don't conglomerate into a single entity; we all retain our individuality."

The 417 Hall lounge, situated right beside the Joust, becomes noisy at times.

Perhaps it is because of their individualistic nature that the commuters embraced this art competition with gusto. There is almost always some sort of guessing game on the table in the center of 417 Hall; commuters seem to relish opportunities to share their thoughts and to make their voices heard. Arnold himself enjoyed the art competition not just because it afforded him a glance into his commuting peers' creative mind, but also because it introduced him to new people. "I've met commuters that I haven't met before, [because they] came in just to vote. [The competition] is very connected."

Below, you can hear Arnold explain why he, like many commuters, finds the lounge to be a reprieve from the rest of campus. Our final look at the 417 Hall art competition includes a conversation with commuter residence director McKenzie Harbaugh.