“Isn’t Well-Being House that house where everyone’s supposed to be all healthy and what-not, but they all do crazy psychedelic drugs on weekends?” said Benjamin Carman ’11. “That’s all I know about Well-Being house.”

Well-Being House, the grandiose, substance-free Victorian on Court Street, has been on campus for over 12 years. However, when most people hear the name, they have no idea what to make of it.

Students also tend to confuse Well-Being House with other ambiguously named program houses, particularly Out House and Open House. Even past and current residents, such as Gabe Fries ’09, admit that “Well-Being” is difficult to define.

“It’s vague, not like Film or French House,” he said. “When I moved in, it became more artsy and folksy, but it could have taken on a completely different incarnation now.”

Because “Well-Being” encompasses so many meanings, the house is used to the plethora of stereotypes about the people who call the place home, from hippie-haven to anti-social hideout. On the application form, students are asked what well-being means to them.

“It’s not a bunch of anti-social people who sit in a house and drink tea all day, though we do drink a lot of tea,” Fries said. “We’re not the type of people who go out and party every night, but we’re not people who don’t at all. We’re all hypocrites.”

In fact, the house’s official mission statement is relatively vague and leaves significant room for interpretation.

“The Well-Being House seeks to provide a substance-free environment in which residents can explore the many aspects of well-being, including physical, spiritual and mental health,” the statement reads. “We always invite the Wes community to join us in our events and offer great opportunities to experience life outside of traditional college settings.”

For Linnea Damer ’10, the concept of well-being is about moderation—a notion that extends to weekend partying, an activity in which house members are known to engage.

“The house is substance-free, and they told us that if you drink, you have to be responsible and not come back and throw up over everything and be belligerently drunk,” she said. “But social and mental well-being, that’s a very big part. Basically, just don’t be unwell.”

Fries said he heard about Well-Being House before he came to Wesleyan, and thought it would be a nice place to live for someone who did not like to drink in high school.

“I lived in Fauver my freshmen year and it was annoying and gross,” he said. “It’s nice to live [in Well-Being House] because there’s no vomit anywhere and there are more women than guys. It’s a very peaceful, clean place to come back to.”

Fries emphasized, however, that it would be impossible to categorize the 13 students with whom he lived.

“We always joked that we could have had a TV sitcom of everyone in the house,” he said. “The only thing consistent about it is no alcohol or drugs.”

Emily Troll ’10, the current house manager (HM), agreed. She noted that the activities the house plans depends entirely on its residents. Last year they had a prohibition party, and hosted root beer kegs and smoothie parties. The events are open to anyone—President Michael Roth came to the root beer keg last year with his daughter.

Troll explained that she became the HM because she had lived there before, and because of her motherly instinct.

“There’s no typical member,” she said. “People should know that Well-Being is primarily a place for community living. That’s my favorite thing about it.”