The cold and dusty shell of South
College looked a long way from
showcase condition one recent December morning.
But to members of the House System
Implementation Committee, what will become the first building of the House
System was filled with promises — huge common rooms, high ceilings and tall
windows with sweeping views of campus and beyond.
During a tour of the work in
progress, Rebecca Seaman '04 picked out her room and posed gleefully for
photos; Byron Nichols wondered aloud if the sturdy 19th-century
wooden ceiling beams could remain exposed. (The fire code won't allow it.); several
members urged Nichols to head a sub-committee to preserve old vandalism — floorboards that were carved by students in the mid-1800. (The pieces were sent to
Special Collections.) Click here to read a story about the floorboards: http://www.union.edu/N/DS/s.php?s=3230
“This is a committee with
attitude,” said Tom McEvoy, dean of residential and campus life, over the din
of power tools. “And they like to have fun.”
The 19-member committee, however,
is doing some serious work. Charged with implementing what Dean of Students
Fred Alford called “the most significant social change since the College began
admitting women,” they spent two days in early December considering a range of
issues: government structure of the houses, engaging the faculty, and
allocating space for common rooms and seminar rooms. They are to meet for two
days in early January to continue the discussion and they will meet weekly
after that.
Besides the tour of South, they talked with Paul
Matarazzo, capital projects administrator, and other members of Facilities.
Doug
Marshall, lead architect of the project for Sasaki Associates, presented an
overview of the plans for all seven houses.
Students were excited about the use of color (“There
is not enough color on campus,” exclaimed sophomore Peter Jewett) and
the fact that the house designs and materials are first rate, with a feeling of
home. “The plans and color boards clearly show there is
an opportunity for great community development,” said
McEvoy. “I think the campus will like the outcome.”
The committee's goal is to make
the College's transition to the House System as seamless as possible.
One question arose over South
College itself: how can we
institute a House System when only two-sevenths of the students and faculty can
be affiliated with it? The committee chose to make South into two
“laboratories” – Yellow Lab and Green Zone – and have students apply to live in
its 98 spaces much as they would for a
theme house.
“South will be a bridge to the
House System,” McEvoy said. “And we can use [the labs] as a way to work out
some of the kinks.”
Dean of Students Fred Alford
passed the torch at a dinner with members of the implementation committee and the
U2K committee, which recommended the House System. “I wanted the [new
committee] to understand the history of the decision and to give a sense of the
importance of the House System to the institution,” Alford said.
The meeting of the two committees
also created a rivalry or sorts. During dinner, someone observed that two members
of U2K became engaged after meeting on the
committee, prompting
some in the newer committee to wonder how
they might
top that.
For committee member Therese
McCarty, professor of economics, the most exciting part of the committee work
is seeing the plans for the houses. “It's exciting to realize that they are
going to be great facilities and that all of a sudden students and faculty will
have access to them,” she said.
McCarty said she also was
surprised that the committee has covered so much ground so quickly. “We've made
a lot of decisions, but not hastily,” she said. “They are very well
considered.”
“When discussing potentially
contentious issues, we've gotten to the point very quickly,” McCarty said. For
example, the committee has started to tackle the issue of tension between
students who are participating in an event and those who are not. (As one
student asked, “What about the students who want to come downstairs to a common
space in their pajamas?”) While each house will set policy about the use of
social spaces, the committee has begun to consider how they can minimize
tensions by designing separate social spaces. “We need to be aware that there
is a lounge space separated from where a group may be showing a movie,” McCarty
said. “And decisions about furniture are inextricably tied up with how a space
will be used.”
Students on the committee are very
articulate and thoughtful and there is not a Greek versus non-Greek
polarization, McCarty said. “I have a hard time remembering which students are
Greek and which ones are not.”
At the committee's first meeting,
one student asked how the faculty and staff members would like to be addressed.
“We decided that everyone should be called by their first name,” McEvoy said.
“It's significant in that every one is an equal player.”
The planning and implementation of
the House System is being supported by a $200,000 grant from the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation.
For more about the House System
and a list of committee members, visit the web site: http://www.union.edu/HouseSystem
The Residential House System at Union
was conceived by a committee of students, faculty and staff and approved by the
Board of Trustees. The House System initiative calls for the creation of seven residential houses on the Union campus. The system will bring students, faculty
and staff together to engage one another in an out-of-class experience that
adds another element of energy and vitality to the campus. Incoming first-year students
will receive an assignment to one of the seven houses, and maintain that affiliation
though their four years as students, and on into their years as alumni.