One of the most interesting things about the campus is getting to see other people’s room decorations. You get glimpses into people’s personalities through the way they style their living spaces. A popular decoration for many college students are tapestries, which have a range in style from artistic mountainscapes to Nicki Minaj saluting the American flag. There is a tapestry out there for everyone. 

Now we are here to tell you our favorite tapestries, though it is safe to say we may be a bit biased with our answers. 

Victoria — Club Penguin

This was by far our best purchase of sophomore year. In my sophomore year, my friends and I lived in a five-person Grad that came equipped with a common room. To decorate our walls, my roommates and I thought it would be best to invest in some decorations. We tried buying lights but we broke them. Then we bought a tapestry. It is a screenshot of a Club Penguin server that says, “You have been banned for saying a bad word. You said: ‘man where them fine a** penguin b*tches at.’” 

We would leave our blinds open so that you could see the banner directly from the walkway since we lived on the ground floor. It really tied the space together. 

Now, did we have to take it down every time someone’s parents came to visit? Yes. Is it still up in our dorm today? Yes. It’s a timeless classic that belongs in every living space that reminds you of the good ole Club Penguin days of our youth.

Cooper — Giant Brandeis flag for no discernable reason

I do not have a tapestry on my wall. Instead, I have a gigantic Brandeis flag and a copy of every Hoot article that I’ve written taped onto my wall. This makes me look crazy, as I’ve just got a bunch of random newspapers hung on my wall in between a one piece poster and a vitruvian man poster. But, I love my wall. The giant Brandeis flag really brings the whole place together and provides an inconceivable sort of vibe to the room.

But, at least I’m better than our next writer. He hates ice cream, hates breakfast and has weird taste in vegetables. Laugh at the heretic, please.

Justin — No.

I do not have a favorite tapestry. 

Editor’s Note: Sports Editor Justin Leung does not have any decorations on his wall. He also hates breakfast and ice cream.

Mia — Bertram

While this isn’t my tapestry, because the one on my wall is just a pretty floral, it is one that’s in my apartment! My friend and roommate Emily has a unique addition to her otherwise perfectly normal room: a tapestry of Bertram from “Jessie” T-posing on a sky background with the words “ASSERT DOMINANCE” at the top of the tapestry. This is the only thing I could think of. <3 Thank you. 

Jamie — Romanticize your East Quad brick wall

You do not need a tapestry; the exposed brick wall in your East Quad dorm is more than enough decoration. Each brick can provide hours of entertainment. If you insist upon having a tapestry, though, one of my friends has a cool ocean pattern tapestry that takes up almost the entirety of one wall. It makes you feel as if you are just by the ocean side. Very immersive. 

Thomas — Live, Laugh, Love

Above my best friend’s bed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the flagship campus (roll Minutemen), are the three words he lives by: “Live, Laugh, Love.” Written in beautiful calligraphy, the words seem to float in the sky above a seemingly endless view over the Pacific Ocean on a somewhat cloudy yet calm day. How could one need to know any more than that to have a good day? Well, in the foreground of the tapestry is none other than the man who can be accredited for the origin of the saying: Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un. Is that a wave or a nuclear submarine hiding in the waves in the background? Who can even tell? Not us! Just focus on laughing and let Kim determine who does the living!

Maddie — “New Girl” boys

If you found yourself in Ziv Quad last year, you may have caught the eyes of Nick, Winston and Schmidt from “New Girl” from the second floor of Ziv 130—specifically, the boys in their college years. When my suitemates and I saw this tapestry on Etsy, we knew we had to get it, along with a sign for the bathroom that says, “I don’t wash the towel. The towel washes me. – Nick Miller.” This tapestry has now moved with us to our Mod, where they watch over us from the second floor landing, their eyes following us wherever we go. Normally I would feel weird about having three men watching me all the time, and it does take newcomers to our Mod by surprise, but their gaze has become comforting. And if you haven’t seen New Girl, I highly recommend it; it has some of the most quotable lines of any sitcom and lovable characters you’d put up on your wall. (A close second-favorite tapestry of mine is the pink “RATZ” one right by the Mods steps—highly recommend taking a peek if you haven’t seen it.)

Logan—The Nicki Minaj Cold War

I’ll keep this simple. Walking around the sophomore dorms on campus, you may have seen two very similar, yet quite distinct tapestries. One of the Rosie suites you can see walking towards the Sherman Dining Hall proudly displays a tapestry of popular musician and rapper Nicki Minaj saluting in front of a flag of the United States of America—clearly an icon of the capitalist ideology. On the other hand, you may have noticed a flag of the very same Nicki, but this time she is saluting just as allegiantly to the flag of the Soviet Union, an equally clear endorsement of communism.

So, clearly this can’t stand. I stay awake every night wondering to myself what side of this ideological conflict Nicki stands on. Because wherever Nicki goes, the world will surely follow. My proposal? The owners of each tapestry fight to the death, and the winner solves the century-long ideological battle then and there. Can’t wait to see the outcome!

Rachel— Posters are superior

Don’t get me wrong, tapestries are a fun decoration. However, I think there is more excitement in posters. Posters have more variety in what you can put on the wall. For example, on my wall, I have a Woodstock poster, an “Across the Universe” poster, a “Sing Street” poster, a “The Squid and the Whale”, and a Broadway poster. These all express my interests, even though they are not made of cloth. Not to mention, mostof them are smaller than the average tapesty, which means I can put more of them on my wall. This is more of my interest for my aesthetic. Paper posters are a classic, and it’s hard to knock. There is more vibrance to their colors and clearer pictures.  They take me back to the days of buying teen magazines and cuttingout the posters that were on the inside and pasting them to my wall. I am a proponent of posters, and they are what my wall needs.