Published 2004-10-06T00:00:00Z”/>

Elizabeth Young<br>Staff Writer

t’s like a home away from home.

Some professors spend countless days and nights working in their offices, and that’s why many of them have chosen to make their offices feel like home.

“Men can stop rape,” “Your silence will not protect you” and “I think, therefore I’m dangerous” are just a few of the bumper stickers that cover the office door of Nandi Crosby, professor of women’s studies and sociology.

“I want it to be academic and a cozy place where I can work, that is welcoming to students,” Crosby said.

As you walk in, a purple lamplight hangs over Crosby’s desk, with three college degrees hanging on the wall and photos of family and friends scattered around. Her bottom shelf is lined with baseball caps from Chico and Crosby’s hometown of Baltimore.

“I buy more baseball caps than I wear them,” said Crosby. “So, oh well, I just put them on display.”

Crosby’s office is freshly painted in a light purple.

“The walls were ugly when I came here and maintenance said they would only paint institutional colors,” Crosby said. “I couldn’t get funky.”

Maintenance only paints every 10 to 12 years so Crosby chose the least drab color.

Even though Crosby would rather have had a royal blue, she said she will have to take good care of this paint job since it will be long before they paint again.

None of the furniture belongs to Crosby; it all came from the university furniture surplus, located on First and Cherry streets. The surplus is in a large warehouse which houses university supplies and furniture professors can use for their offices.

“It’s like a revolving door with furniture going in and out,” said Jason Smock, a property clerk who is responsible for keeping track of every piece of professor furniture. All year long, professors can come and choose from a variety of furniture and office items for free, Smock said.

The university accumulates all past furniture so it can be reused for another professor or student organization, or be disposed, he said.

“It’s university policy for all things to filter through our office,” Smock said.

Items worth more than $500 that need to be tossed must be approved and voted on by the Property Survey Board, Smock said, which is composed of directors from different departments at the university.

Professor Sue Pate got her purple desk chair at the university surplus. The theater arts department gave her a chair with a broken back, so she went to the warehouse and they had a purple chair just for her.

The purple chair matches her lavender walls and filing cabinet.

“One of the painters painted my room lavender, and as a favor painted one of my filing cabinets lavender also,” Pate said.

Pate’s office is covered in dance memoirs, CDs, books, pictures and items that remind her of past performances. Barbies dressed up in costumes, masks and murals clutter the walls, and a neon green boa and a variety of bags hang on a coat rack.

“Everything has a story in my office,” she said.

Pate’s office used to be twice as big as it is now.

“They changed it into a bathroom,” Pate said. “So now I’m here.”

A big painting of a dancing African American women wearing bright yellow and red dresses hangs over her desk, which she bought with her own money.

“I have the same painting at home also,” Pate said. “I love how it has lots of movement in it.”

Pate said she spends about three or four hours a day in her office, so she likes her office to feel cozy, restful and organized.

“It’s a funny combo, but it’s what I’m going for,” Pate said. “I want it to be student-friendly so students can come in and work on dance projects.”

Pate’s office feels like a place away from home, said Priscilla Amador, a journalism and communication design major who is a director for Chico Dance Theater.

“I like that she has pictures of us and the whole office is crowded with so many things,” Amador said.

Pate gave Amador a bookshelf that used to be in her office because it was taking up too much space.

“Pate lets us do our homework and use her computer,” Amador said. “Her office makes me want to go in there even when I don’t have anything to say.”

While Pate’s office reflects her dancing and past performances, it also represents her family.

“My most cherished thing is the picture of my son because he’s the most cherished thing to me,” Pate said. “Then it’s the people that sit herein.”

Elizabeth Young can be reached at

<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>