"[The tunnels are] friendlier now," said P.Nikia Bergan '97, pointing out a wall whichfeatured a chocolate chip cookie recipe.

But some Adams House students interviewed saidthey felt the new murals lacked the true spirit ofunderground art work which pervaded the tunnels inthe past.

"The murals as they are now remind me of middleschool," said Anre M. Rubin '97. "The old oneswere really graffiti, and therefore interesting."

"I think in one sense the old murals were inbad condition, and repainting was necessary," saidVanessa L. Ryan '97. "It would have been nicethough, to have the repainting be morespontaneous--to be more like graffiti."

"I think the painting should have been doneover time, when people actually had something tosay," Ryan added. "That was more the spirit ofAdams."

Other passerby were unperturbed by the changes.

"It doesn't really matter," said Adams residentDavid J. Hutz '97.

Nevertheless, several muralists presentyesterday said the experience of working togetherto renew the tunnels was a way of celebratinghouse spirit.

"It was fun because it was a big bondingexperience," said Bergen, "Everyone was walkingaround saying 'hi' Everyone came down andparticipated."

Although most of the old murals were paintedover, Hamoudi said several--deemedindispensable--were preserved. House committeerepresentative and residents of Adams spent partof last Tuesday deciding which ones to maintain,he said.

"There are certain ones which are justclassic," Hamoudi said. "They couldn't go, becauseof their popularity."

Hamoudi singled out as an example a mural,retouched by Adam J. Cohen '95, which said: "It'sall true....it's a dirty house. They all sleeptogether. They all swim naked in the pool."

"We don't have a pool anymore, but we have thisreputation," Hamoudi said.

Resident art tutor Janet Echelman, who wanderedthe tunnels to offer students individualassistance and tips on mixing colors, expressedsatisfaction with the new murals.

"I think they look beautiful extraordinary."Echelman said. "The students showed ingenuity andcreativity."

Echelman said she was struck by the number ofmurals which featured verses from poets such asAdrienne Rich.

"There's a prevalence of verbal expression inaddition to visual expression," Echelman said.

"Also, there several strong feminist images,like a wonder woman, and an Adams House 'woman ofthe future'-- that's all new," she said