In the ensuing years, students playfully tweaked the word “refectory” to “The Rat Factory,” then shortened it to “The Ratty.” And as Brown changed, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, so did the Ratty—filling ever more with women and faces of color and often becoming a staging ground for political activism around Vietnam, Brown worker rights, and other causes. Menus evolved to be more diverse and international—and healthier. A collection of tables populated by Black students sprang up and then, in the early years of the 21st century, disappeared. (See “Farewell, Little Africa,” page 26.) Smoking was banned. More recent years have brought the arrival of air-conditioning (2016) and both a kosher and a halal food station (2023). The required meal plan for first-years now costs more than $8,000. 

The Ratty has been where Brown’s social pageant comes to life, from the table groupings—a more nuanced version of the high-school cafeteria fiefdoms of nerds, jocks, socialites, and bohemians—to conversations on everything from the semiotic to the silly. (You might be discussing Discipline and Punish one minute and sticking straws up your nose the next.) There is the almost cathedral-like serenity of the Ratty in the early-morning hours, when you scarf down two bowls of Rice Krispies after cramming all night for an exam—and then the excitement of all-you-can-eat-sushi night. It is both sprawling and intimate, a nightly party and a reliable incubator of enduring friendships. 

So here’s a look back since 1951, with a trove of memories shared by everyone from the Ratty’s longtime (and current) overseer to alums from across the decades. Ever true … and ever Tetrazzini!