Breaking bread in Tower B

A roommate, 38 neighbors per floor, 569 residents in Tower B and about 1,860 total students… A roommate, 38 neighbors per floor, 569 residents in Tower B and about 1,860 total students living in Litchfield Towers. The experience of adapting to college life can be a bit overwhelming to freshmen. They might worry about making friends, getting to classes on time, whether to eat a greasy, sloppy burger or a greasy, sloppy pizza for dinner and how to fight off the resulting freshman 15. Surely, they must ask themselves at times, ‘What would Jesus do?’ Well, now they can actually ask him in person … sort of. Freshman Nathan Morelli has become the resident ‘Jesus Christ’ of Litchfield Tower B. Morelli started off college with hair to his shoulders and a beard that would make Chuck Norris feel insecure. It wasn’t too long before his resemblance to the Biblical figure was pointed out. ‘It was a conversation starter, really,’ said Morelli. ‘Then everyone on the floor started talking.’ By ‘the floor,’ Morelli means floor 13 of Litchfield Tower B, where the Tower’s ‘Jesus’ following originated and is still strongest. Fellow floor resident Casey McRoy knows Morelli and sees the resemblance. ‘I couldn’t stop laughing … his look and everything, but he’s just trying to make friends like any other freshman,’ he said. And make friends Morelli has. One uneventful day during freshman orientation, 12 of Morelli’s neighbors on floor 13 found a bed sheet and wrapped it around Morelli as a robe. Then they started at the top of Tower B and progressed through each floor, walking in a sort of parade. Floor by floor, Morelli and his followers got their photographs taken and started conversation throughout all of the Towers. They even ended up on top of the footbridge crossing Forbes Avenue, causing a slow-down in traffic. ‘People would drive a little slower and just look up at the bridge and see ‘Jesus’ and this group of guys waving at them,’ said Morelli. Morelli has become a semi-celebrity in Tower B. There’s even a sign on the door to floor 13 saying, ‘Welcome to Floor 13, Home of Jesus.’ On his door is a dry-erase board with messages from numerous students proclaiming, ‘Jesus, we’ve found you!’ or ‘Jesus, come to floor 15 cuz we are sexy, xoxo.’ Morelli doesn’t need to woo the ladies with his ‘Jesus’ attire. He has a girlfriend at Villanova. But of course, he’s always willing to help out his friends on floor 13 in the pursuit of love. ‘We’ve also got a magician on our floor,’ said Morelli, ‘just in case the whole ‘Jesus’ thing doesn’t do enough to get people to visit the floor.’ As more and more students take notice of this doppelganger Messiah, it begs the question of whether Morelli will keep this going all year. He has looked the way he does today since the seventh grade, but he believes that the hype will die down eventually. He does not intend for people to continue to come up to him and follow him through the halls, asking for autographs and photos. However, religious groups could propel him into the limelight ‘mdash; for good or bad reasons. While some Catholic and Christian groups might find Morelli’s impersonation offensive, Morelli reminds everyone that he is not really Jesus, nor is he trying to convince people he is. ‘I just look like him,’ he said. Morelli is himself a Catholic and goes to church every week. Although Morelli doesn’t turn water into wine or heal people with the touch of his hand (although both would be useful on a college campus), he does go out and plays capture the flag and ultimate Frisbee on the Cathedral lawn. He’s just a normal student who doesn’t believe in conservative haircuts. However, he might have performed a miracle by uniting an entire floor of strangers in a dormitory, all trying to fit in and adjust to a new college experience.