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Ziskind House and its conjoined sister house, Cutter, share the distinction and curse of being the most modern houses on campus. Ziskind is located closer to Upper Elm and houses like Sessions . It is next door to the Friedman Complex where students can live in an apartment style setting. Neilson Library, academic buildings and administrative buildings are a five-minute walk away and downtown Northampton is a fifteen-minute walk away.
On the first floor of Ziskind is the dining room, which the house shares with the residents of Cutter and Sessions. The dining room has a stereo system, chrome lighting fixtures and mirrors, lending a faint Art Deco feel to the environment. It is also air-conditioned. On the weekends when Cutter or Ziskind decides to have a party, the room becomes the dance floor. Sometimes Cutter and Ziskind jointly host social events.
In the living room, adjacent to the dining room, is a television and fireplace which gets plenty of use in the winter. Next to the living room is a beau parlor, a quiet room for reading. The room received its name in the late 50's when students would meet their beaus there because men, including fathers were not allowed upstairs.
Upstairs there are 64 single rooms, some of which are assigned to incoming students, and 8 doubles. The rooms are standardized, each one with a large window that runs the width of the room and a drape provided by Smith. A large closet and set of drawers are built into one end of the room and provide storage space.
The wings of Cutter and Ziskind come together to form a courtyard. It is rumored that the area was originally designated a pool site. No evidence of a pool exists, although students still find that the courtyard is a great place to socialize and eat meals when the weather is pleasant.