Posted on Mar 12, 2004
When students made the pitch for
faculty involvement with the Minerva Houses opening this fall, one seemed to
sum up the feelings of his peers:
“Students really enjoy having the
faculty there,” said Chris Macomber '05. “It's really neat to interact with faculty
on a different level.”
Macomber, a member of South
College's Green Lab, is one of the
10 students on the committee planning the Minerva Houses, which met before a
faculty meeting on Tuesday.
Six of seven Minerva Houses will
be in operation this fall, said Tom McEvoy, committee chair and dean of
residential and campus life. The seventh, Orange House (now Sigma Phi) will
be in operation in the winter of 2005. The committee has used “Yellow Lab” and
“Green Lab” to chart the direction of the Minerva Houses coming on line this
fall. (The term “Minerva Houses” has replaced “House System.”)
Creating 'middle ground'
“The point is to create that
middle ground that sometimes is lacking here at Union,”
said Sonya Saxena '06, “to have the space where you can engage in something
that is both fun and intellectual. I'm sure students want that type of
interaction.”
And just because faculty are
involved, it doesn't have to be serious and intellectual, she emphasized. “I
haven't had any of [the committee faculty members] in class, but I know them
better than a lot of professors I have had in class just because we get to talk
about things that aren't always related to school.”
Dale Stoudt '06 reviewed a number
of events held and planned in Yellow Lab: wine and cheese reception with
students and faculty, a sushi and Chinese buffet, a trip to see Les Miserables, and a catered French
dinner followed by a trip to a French opera. He said plans are under way for a
happy hour with students and faculty, “a responsible type of atmosphere for
drinking.”
Macomber, calling the Minerva
Houses “a perfect opportunity for creating a new social scene on campus,” said
the events in the Yellow and Green labs have created a “real sense of unity”
within each house, from set up to clean up. “Students do enjoy having you guys
there,” he told the faculty. “It's a great time.”
A 'salamander soiree'
Aaron Edelstein '05 described
himself as a “damaged first-year student” whose only interaction with faculty
took place in sterile classrooms. “I'm excited about the Minerva Houses because
I see them as a way to combine entertainment and intellectual activity to
increase the intellectual environment at Union,” he
said.
“I can see Professor [Barbara] Pytel having a
salamander soiree, having a discussion about the salamanders and everything I
learned in herpetology … and also having a dinner party afterwards …but nothing
endangered [on the menu].”
Edelstein said that “a big push
from faculty” would help draw out students. “There are a lot of students … who
really need that catalyst, really need that connection with faculty to be able
to raise their hands in the classrooms. This is an opportunity to get those
students who are almost proactive to
get into that proactive side.”
Senior Peter Stein, a member of
Sigma Phi fraternity, said he has heard students say they have grown tired of
fraternity parties. “The student body is changing to become more intellectual
and less party-oriented. Students are embracing [the Minerva Houses] as another
option. I don't want faculty to view this as a burden but as another option.”
Senior Peter Gorvitz, on the
implementation committee since it started 15 months ago, said, “students would
like to see the intellectualism of their classes pervade their social life.”
'Campus living rooms'
McEvoy cited the work of the
committee including 1,119 emails, more than 40 two-hour meetings, a special
edition of Concordy, a visit to
Middlebury, a conference call with Bowdoin, a visit from Franklin and Marshall
(“a nice signal that Union is doing something unique”), and a road trip to
Boston to select furniture.
“We've had good times and bad
times, but it was totally predictable,” he said of the committee's experiences
over the last year. “We've learned from that and we are much better positioned
to take on seven houses next year.”
“We have everything in place – we
have the buildings, we have the resources, we have the people. The only unknown
for me … is if you build it, will they come? I think so. We are creating what
[Committee member Prof.] Suzie [Benack] calls seven campus living rooms. That's something we've never
had before.”
Prof. Byron Nichols urged faculty
to run for house positions. “This is as much your enterprise as it is the
students'. It would be fun to have a student and faculty run for chair of an
activities committee.”
Prof. Barb Danowski urged faculty
to recruit students who are “dynamic, organized and enthusiastic” to pursue
offices in the houses, adding that “we shouldn't view this as a student-run
enterprise. Faculty are as much empowered to be in charge and create this as
the students are.”
Prof. Alan Taylor said,
“Psychologically, we should separate the residential component and think of
that first floor as people space.” Taylor
also urged his colleagues to consider “low-cost contributions,” events that
they are already doing that could be held in the houses, from review sessions
to faculty gatherings.
Prof. Therese McCarty said, “If
everyone could do one thing in their house in the fall term, that would be a
really good way to get started. You may feel deluged by requests. But you
certainly don't have to do everything.”
Benack, who with Taylor
has spent the last six years helping to develop the Minerva Houses, said that
faculty and students have kept to their own realms – academic and social. “I
feel most energized in my job when that separation breaks down, when you are
involved with students collaboratively. I hope that students have that
experience of collaborating with us and not viewing us as the scary grown-ups,
or the annoying grown-ups, or the idealized grown-ups.”
Added Saxena, “Collaboration is
important to me and I know that a lot of students are looking forward to that.”
“Many of us, including me, have
been complainers about certain aspects of student culture,” said Prof. Julius
Barbanel. “This is our chance to change it. You've really got
to step up and play your part here.”
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