Nicole Muszynski loves the Barbie movie that came out in 2023. We're standing in the lobby of Gibson Hall at the University of Arkansas. It's the oldest female-only dorm on campus. She says the film hit the nail on the head when it comes to describing girlhood.
"I think that we finally recognize that there's just times where it is a little harder to be a woman and feel confident in the space that you're in, especially if it's just a male-dominated space. Sometimes I think we put ourselves in boxes and try to feel less than and smaller just to make someone else feel more comfortable or not rock the boat, to not be labeled as something. Sometimes I think women, you get labeled as just aggressive or you're just labeled as bitchy."
In the film, Margot Robbie plays the stereotypical Barbie. She brings two humans into the Barbie world to show them all of the dream house varieties. She finally arrives at her dream house, which is no longer her dream house.
"Ken! What have you done? What are you wearing?"
"Don't question it. Just roll with it, tiny baby."
"Don't call me baby."
"What about mini baby? Like this mini fridge?"
"No, Ken, this is my dream house. It is my dream house. It's mine."
"No, this is no longer Barbie's dream house. This shall henceforth be known as Ken's Mojo Dojo Casa House."
"You don't have to say dojo and house and Casa."
"But you do because it feels good."
Muszynski is the hall director for Gibson Hall. She says she's inspired by the energy of her residents and resident advisors.
"This kind of also started because my RA from last year made these signs that are over there that says, 'This is Barbie's dream house, not Ken's Mojo Dojo Casa House. Escort your guests.'"
The energy of protecting your place, your femininity and your legacy are all things that motivate Muszynski in her work, and that's evident in the front lobby of Gibson Hall. She says before she came on as hall director, the space was a dumping ground for old, mismatched furniture and a peculiar safari theme that felt very Mojo Dojo Casa House. Today, the space is lined with giant canvas photographs of women on campus.
One photo is from 1945 and features two women sitting together finishing their schoolwork in Carnall Hall, the first all-women's residence hall on campus. One woman sits on a bed holding a stuffed bear, while the other sits at a desk reading her textbook. Muszynski says at the time this photo was taken, fewer than 3% of women in Arkansas completed four years of college.
"And so it was unheard of for women typically to do that. And nearly one in four women now hold a college degree in the state of Arkansas. And I think spaces like this are a testament to being able to do that."
Another canvas on the wall shows four women cheerleaders hugging and laughing together after defeating Texas A&M in a football game. It's a scene that was captured in 1953 but feels like it could have been seen today.
"You can see the camaraderie there and just the excitement to be a Razorback. And I think that still happens today when all the girls are getting ready to go to the football game. They're waiting in line to sit and stand in the student section. I think that's very similar to back then."
These women in the photographs would likely be in their 80s or 90s at this point, if they're even still alive. The thought of imagining them as a resident's grandmother or great-grandmother is fascinating. Muszynski says there's a lot of admiration for mothers, both from her residents and from her.
"I think in college, my mom was someone that I looked up to, just like a lot of the women in this building. They'll always talk about how much they love their moms. Their moms will come visit them for moms weekend, things like that. My mom is from Poland and so I'm first-gen American. She only commuted to college at UIC in Chicago, and she never had the opportunity to live on campus. And so when I got to, she was so excited for me. And even when she visits me here, she's like, 'I can't believe you get to do this as your job.' And so the sacrifices that everyone's parents make or their family makes, I think is a very beautiful story and where you can end up, because I never thought I'd end up here, just like the women, who knows where they're going to end up once they're done with their freshman year and living in an apartment.
Moore: It sounds like you don't take that for granted.
"I try not to. I think my freshman year of college was hard. I'm an only child. I've never lived away from home up until that point. And so I remember what it was like when I stepped into my freshman dorm. And I was so scared. I was so alone. It was so hard for me to make friends. And I never want that to happen to the people who live in my buildings."
Muszynski says she also considers that she is currently older than the women who are in the photographs when they were captured. She likes to imagine how the experiences they had on campus set them up for success.
"Maybe the woman who's working on the newspaper, maybe she also was into journalism like you, and was able to work at a company that was able to produce. And the women maybe who are studying in the study lounges, I can imagine maybe they're nurses or their grandchildren are nurses. Their daughters became nurses. I would just like to think that they're doing things that the women before them couldn't have done. And I think that's my hopeful look of these photos."
Seven different photos hang in the lobby of Gibson Hall, but one is unequivocally Muszynski's favorite. It captures Suzanne Newton in May of 1953 in Davis Hall.
"And I think that one is an embodiment of the Barbie movie because she looks so gorgeous and she's getting ready to, I'm assuming, go to some kind of formal. And then you see her significant other on the top of that mirror, and I think it's beautiful."
Moore: Do you have like a backstory that you have implanted onto her?
"Yes. In my head, I imagined she was a junior and I think that she was going to a dance. They used to have these ball kind of dances outside Memorial Hall, which I was looking through some of the photos. It looked so much fun. They don't do that anymore. They should bring it back. And I'm assuming she was getting ready for that. And then maybe her boyfriend was meeting her down here and was going to escort her out there. And then they danced and had a very nice night out. And then maybe after the dance, went to go get some burgers and milkshakes, like in the Grease movie or something."
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
