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Volume CXXXII, Number 15 |
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New House blocking system
To the Bowdoin Community:
In the past few months, the Inter-House Council, Bowdoin Student Government, and the Residential Life Staff have been working in conjunction to improve an already successful House System. These organizations collected feedback from the student body through a WBOR radio call-in show with President Mills last fall, and an additional open forum discussion with members of the IHC.
These meetings suggested that upperclass students were looking for greater incentive to be involved with their College Houses, and that the houses should be allowed to develop more personal identities in general. This input and numerous meetings with Bowdoin Student Government resulted in a proposal to change the House System application process to add a new blocking feature.
Allowing blocks of 3-8 people to apply to the houses, the new application process will let students of different affiliations apply to live in the College House of their choice (provided at least one member of the group is an affiliate to the chosen house). This permits the value of affiliation to remain intact while still allowing students to live with their friends in a House.
Also, College Houses that have included large groups of friends in the past have proven to be more fun and successful. By applying to the House System in a block, students will be guaranteed that all members of their group can be accepted as a unit, without fear that one or two rejections will separate them.
Each applicant must still fill out an individual application, and each block must submit one Block Application (signed by all members of the group). The blocks may be coed, consist of different classes, and include students who have lived in houses in the past and those who are entirely new to the system. With such a variety of options to consider I urge you to check out the applications, which are currently available in the Residential Life Office. Applications are due Wednesday, February 19 by 5 p.m.
For more information visit http://www.bowdoin.edu/reslife/colhouse/
Sincerely,
Sara Wiltshire
IHC President
To the Bowdoin Community:
When I was a freshman, H and L was the equivalent of New York University's bar scene-broken up into several distinct locales, any given student knew where they could go to get exactly what they wanted. Whether you were a freshman longing to find a partner in procrastination or a senior seeking a silent corner in which to cuddle up with Foucault, the library successfully catered to the needs of each individual student.
While I will admit that, personally, few of my nights were spent actually "doing work" in H and L, I would hardly call my library time unproductive. Some of my best conversations, and best dance parties for that matter, have been held in our beloved library. I firmly believe there is a direct correlation between the amount of work one has to do and the creativity one will employ toward procrastination. But alas, I digress.
Last week I witnessed something that, in my opinion, should never happen
at Bowdoin. Amidst a scintillating conversation about the proper way to
address Mr. Sean Puffy Combs on the ground level right side of H and L,
(by the way, it's P. Diddy) I heard a "shhhhh," coming in my
direction from the corner seat facing the window.
Now, I am not sure if the rules changed during my semester abroad or whether
that time away merely made me more attuned to the rules, but either way,
I feel the Bowdoin community could benefit from a reinstatement of what
used to be unspoken.
Take a mental journey with me. Walk in the front doors of H and L and hang a right. You will approach a set of computer terminals. Proceed 5 paces. You are now standing in front of, what we seniors know as, the "Social Section." Here, you are allowed to speak in an "outside" voice, make jokes to your friends from across the room, dance in the aisles and pretty much, do anything you want as long as you don't disturb people in other sections of the library. Of course, you can bring your books; you are allowed to accomplish as much as you like in the social section. It just usually doesn't happen that way.
Some of you may not like this setup. I know who you are. I see you rolling your eyes at me every time I sit down at my usual table. But I implore you to consider the benefits of abiding by these unwritten boundaries. Imagine doing a group project for class without getting dirty looks from anyone. Imagine getting help on a problem set without having to worry about complaining too loudly. I considered the idea that this system might preclude some studious workers from benefiting from the working setup on the first floor, but then I realized that there is an identical set-up of tables and comfy chairs on the other side! Sure, the view doesn't look onto the quad, but the street side is better for catching people falling on the slippery sidewalk.
The library should be a haven for everyone; not just for people who can only work in absolute silence! Why else would they have different floors, study tables, stacks, reading rooms, etc? Why prohibit the collaborative H and L experience when we could open up the library to quiet and social alike?
I think we at Bowdoin are smart and open-minded enough to remedy this discrimination without a sign. If you take only one thing from this article, let it be the knowledge that Mr. Combs will only answer to P. Diddy. But if per chance I can burden you with a second message, let it be that the ground floor right side welcomes all peoples regardless of their vocal timbre. The social section is a place where your learning can be fueled by intellectual conversation and group discussion, and the quality of your breaks can be heightened by lively debate and mindless banter.
Yes, 'tis true that the breaks do tend to come more frequently when seated in said area, but lets be honest. If people actually wanted to maximize their study time on the ground floor of H and L, what would the stacks be for?
Sincerely,
Arlyn Davich '03
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