Amidst recent changes in fraternity program housing status, two new program houses have been approved for next year. The new houses, the science program house Delta G and Film House, are currently accepting applications.
According to Area Coordinator for Program Housing Rosario Navarro, only Delta G and Film House were accepted out of a pool of six housing proposals. Navarro said that though she liked the applications submitted for Art House, Poetry House, Psi Upsilion, and Multi-Faith House, their applications were not as comprehensive as the two houses that were approved.
“We felt that Film House and Science House were excellent opportunities for the extensions of academic life on campus into the living facilities, which is exactly what program houses are for,” Navarro said.
She said that the application process for program house status is extremely involved and includes creating a mission statement for the house, possible programs, and a list of people who would be willing to live there. In an ongoing effort to integrate student life and academics, both approved houses have faculty members who will be the house advisors.
Risa Dubin ’06 and Miriam Jacobs ’05 are two of the founding members of Delta G. With the help of other science students Sarah Weingarten ’05, Samantha Marshall ’05, Joshua Lobe ’04, Jessica Pfund ’05 and Rachel Seltzer ’05, they came up with the idea for a living space where students can share their experiences and passions for the sciences.
“It’s an inside joke,” Jacobs said about the house’s name. “In physics equations Delta G means ‘change in energy,’ and that’s what we want to happen within the science community on campus.”
According to Dubin, the house will provide a much-needed place for students interested in science to share their enthusiasm.
“We felt that there was really no space on campus for science students to get together to have fun, empathize with each other about painful bio labs, and be loud,” she said.
Mole day, ? day and Mad Scientist parties are some of the ideas envisioned for next year. The founding members also plan to create ways in which science students can become more involved in the community. They have already begun discussing tutoring programs, both for students on campus and within the greater Middletown area. They also plan on helping to expand already existing programs like Action Science Kids (ASK), a science program for Middletown students organized by Women in Science (WISP).
“It’s really exciting that we get to shape the house into what it will be in the future,” Dubin said. “It could be anything. We’re very open to ideas.”
Navarro said she was optimistic about the prospects for both houses.
“We hope that these houses will be able to build a strong community within themselves and work hard to sustain [it] and extend it to the broader Wesleyan community through programming,” she said.
Dubin, a science major, and Jacobs, a Molecular Biology and Biochemistry major, said they have high expectations for the house, which will be located at 314 Washington St. Turath, which currently resides there, will be moved to One Vine. Science House has space for nine residents and is comprised solely of single rooms.
“We’re a little upset that the house is so far from the Science Center,” Jacobs said. “But we’re pushing for a better location in the future if the house is successful.”
“There are houses for just about everything on campus but the sciences,” Dubin said. “We wanted to give science students an opportunity to convene socially.”
Film House will be located at 316 Washington St. Brittany Mitchell, the founder of the house, was unavailable for comment.
“I’m so excited for these houses,” Navarro said. “I’m particularly excited that the students who founded Science House are girls. I think this is telling of Wesleyan and the environment it creates in which all students are able to enter into all areas of academia. I think that Science House will offer an opportunity to open up the sciences to everyone on campus through fun and creative programming. I also hope that the house will encourage undecided first year students to consider sciences at Wesleyan.”
For those interested in applying to Delta G or any other program houses, the applications are on-line in student’s e-portfolios until Feb. 27. For more information specifically on Science House, e-mail Dubin at rdubin@wesleyan.edu or Jacobs at myjacobs@wesleyan.edu. There will be an Open House Friday, Feb. 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 314 Washington Street. All interested students are encouraged to attend.
Film House, located at 316 Washington St., will also be accepting applications for next year. All interested students should contact Brittany Mitchell at bmitchell@wesleyan.edu. Film House will also have an open house on Feb. 20 at 344 Washington St. from 4 to 6 p.m.