Final Feature

HOUSING CHANGES RUNNING SMOOTHLY
By Jessica R. Maas




KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Trowbridge Hall’s lounge was packed with nearly 60 people one Sunday night in November for the Women’s Resource Center’s Open Mic Night. The green couches and rocking chairs placed in front of the two microphones were all occupied, forcing many people to stand in back. Wall-lamps surrounded the room to highlight the performers, and students of all classes had come to see the show.

A year ago it would not have been uncommon to find upperclassmen in the now first-year only residence hall, but it’s now only on evenings with events like these that a significant number of those in other classes enter the building, according to Selin Oner, a first-year student living in Trowbridge Hall.

The decision to change the housing was made late in winter quarter last year, according to Sarah Westfall, Dean of Students. Now two halls, Trowbridge and Hoben, are devoted to first-year students and Crissey, Severn, and DeWaters are composed of upperclassmen. Harmon is the only mixed residence hall.

According to Westfall, benefits to changing the housing included the following:
1) It allows the upperclassmen to have what they consider better housing, i.e. suites.
2) Residence hall programming can be geared towards the individual classes’ needs.
3) The first-year class can develop a community that they can maintain throughout their
time at K.

Drawbacks were the possibility of the upperclassmen responding negatively to the new housing and the change creating a difficulty for first-years to meet upperclassmen, she said.

Oner said that it has been hard to meet upperclassmen, but she does feel as if she knows a great deal of people within her own class. She enjoys meeting upperclassmen, though, and wishes there were more opportunities for it.

“They’re really beneficial and a great resource to draw on,” she said. “I know that if I have questions I can come to them and ask them.”

Prior to this school year, about 45 percent of each residence hall was reserved for first-year students, according to Dana Jansma, Associate Dean of Students. She said that sophomores felt as if they had worse access to housing than they did as freshmen because they were given whatever was left after the reservations were made. When the administration restructured, they wanted to let the upperclassmen have the suites and access to singles, as well as some of the better doubles.

“I did not have one upperclassman complain at the housing process last year,” said Jansma.

According to her, it was also important to get the freshmen out of suites, which have typically made it harder for them to find their niches because they are so closed off.

Other administrators pointed out additional benefits. Zaide Pixley, Dean of the First-Year Students, thinks that the new housing is beneficial for the targeted programming it allows.

“Some colleges have University 101 courses,” she said. According to her, those courses allow undergraduates to learn about making choices related to alcohol, time, and personal
decisions.

Pixley said that these topics get discussed in first-year forums and orientation, “but it’s kind of spotty.”

She said that she hasn’t heard one negative comment and that parents have told her that their children are happy at K.

“I haven’t heard that before this year, that level of enthusiasm,” she said.

Senior resident assistants, students who have previously had at least one year of RA experience, say that they have noticed changes in their jobs and differences between halls.

“Being an RA in an all first-year building is different than being an RA in the suites with mostly sophomores,” said Elizabeth Swisher, senior RA in Trowbridge Hall. “They have different needs.”

Programming, according to all of the SRAs, has become tailored to each individual hall, but the atmosphere in the halls also seems to be different.

Elena Brooks, senior RA in Hoben and a previous RA in Severn, attributes the atmosphere change in first-year halls to the fact that they don’t have any upperclass influence.

“No one hung out in the lounge in Severn because upperclassmen wouldn’t, so why would they?” she said.

Brooks also noted that there has been a change in the number of problems with residents.

“I can say that I’ve seen a significant drop in the amount of incidents that I’ve had to deal with,” she said. The same can also be said of other buildings, according to Clark, Swisher, and Lee Karraker, senior RA in DeWaters.

All of the senior RAs expressed that they were initially concerned that first-years would
not have the same opportunity to interact with upperclassmen, but don’t think it’s been a problem so far.

“I don’t think that my worry has really been an issue,” said Ali McCubbrey, senior RA in Crissey Hall. “There’s a lot more reliance on extracurricular activities to make that connection now.”

At least one of them, though, is worried that relationships may be hindered.

“I met one of my best friends my freshmen year – she was a junior – and I don’t think I would’ve met her if we were in segregated housing,” said Britnei Clark, senior RA in Harmon.

Both Westfall and Pixley believe that connections like the type Clark described will occur more readily when Hicks Center re-opens.

“The idea is that the building will be really inviting,” said Westfall. “We’re hoping that it’s a place students want to be.”

Though Westfall is committed to three years with this housing setup, the changes are not set in stone.

“If we were to find that this is the worst thing we’ve ever done, of course we would change it,” she said.

In the meantime, Oner has attended many college events, such as dance parties and a salsa dancing night, that have brought multiple classes together. She thinks that these events allow for connections to be formed and that relationships with upperclassmen are important for first-year students to have.

“I feel like they have so much wisdom to offer,” she said.



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