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Volume CXXXII, Number 15 |
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One for the house system
For some time there has been a great deal of uncertainty concerning the state of the College House System. While the administration heralds the success of its social experiment, the low numbers of students applying for residency in the houses last spring attests to the lukewarm achievement of the six-house system. While the original plans for the house system hoped to achieve individual senses of identity in the houses, the character of each house has tended to shift dramatically from year to year as residents come and go. The recent decision by the Office of Residential Life and the Inter-House Council to adopt a group-friendly blocking system shows a great sense of initiative to improve the quality of social life on campus, rather than continue to tread water in the current state of affairs.
Until this point, students wishing to live in one of the
six social houses were restricted by the fate of their friends. If one
chose to enter the house lottery, he or she faced the decision of entering
into the lottery alone if friends declined to enter as well. Should a
group have decided to apply individually (beyond the two-block system
that will now become obsolete), decisions after the lottery were often
affected by the fate of companions in the selection process. By permitting
groups of up to eight students to block together in the social house lottery,
the future of the house system promises to provide a more cohesive collection
of house leaders. The decision of Residential Life to listen to the concerns
and suggestions of the student body is reassuring. As a fine example of
student-initiated change on campus, the new House policy is a step in
the right direction, reinforcing Bowdoin's true mission as a residential
college.
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