As the Office of Residential Life reorganizes and categorizes special living spaces, which encompasses all non-dorm residences, students living at 200 Church Street are discussing what their house stands for, as they set upon revising their vision statement and retooling the house’s framework.
It has already been decided that the dorm will remain exclusively freshmen. Now the question is to decide to what sort of standards and values residents will be held.
“It was very clear, said Area Coordinator Brandon Buehring. ”We had a meeting with some of the members of the URLC [University Residential Life Committee] and the consensus of the people in the meeting was that they preferred not to have sophomores in the building.“
According to a report released by the URLC to the WSA, 200 Church, along with Substance Free Hall and Gender Blind Hall will fall into the new category developed for WestCo called ”special interest community focused housing.“
According to Buehring, practically speaking, this should have no effect on 200 Church. The house will remain all freshmen even though it will have the option of re-evaluating that choice next year. Buehring said that the results of the evaluation processes described in the URLC’s plan confirm the work he has been doing.
”It’s basically what I feel I’ve been doing so far anyway,“ Buehring said.
200 Church resident and WSA member Norah Connor ’07 said she agrees that the URLC plan is unlikely to cause much change.
”We heard about that about two weeks ago and we were very upset about being lumped together with Westco,“ Connor said. ”As it stands now I don’t think it will be a problem.“
Currently the 200 Church Council, a self-selected committee, are considering how they can make the house more effective in the future and how to redirect the goals of the house.
The current vision statement describes 200 Church as a residence ”for first-year students who wish to build a self-affirming and celebratory community that actively fights racism and oppression,“ and to ”develop programs that will explore different and intersecting struggles and identities through students of color frameworks in dynamic and varied residentially based programs, discussions, speakers, and community service activities.“
Some 200 Church residents said they feel that the statement is not reflective of who they are.
”The general sentiment is that the house is ours now and that the vision statement still belongs to the people who created the house,“ said Nathalie Hodge ’07, who says she found some of the language ”negative.“ She said she would like to replace ”fight racism and oppression“ with ”actively pursue cultural awareness.“
”This house was [originally] intended as a person of color house and it is not,“ she said.
Hodge said that she thinks residents have a different vision from the founders who pushed for 200 Church to be strictly for students of color.
”I’m completely grateful to them, but some of their views are a little extreme to the point where it might be uncomfortable for white students,“ Hodge said. ”All the students here want to make this a multicultural house and not a student of color house.“
Besides changing the wording of the house’s vision statement, residents also are working with Buehring and ResLife to come up with structures to make the house more efficient.
”The way residents will interact with their purpose will change,“ Buehring said. ”They came in without much structure. I think it was kind of exciting for them because they got to figure what they’d like to have see and do now.“
A proposal drafted Feb. 13, which is still provisional, would give 200 Church a resource center and study space with ”necessary supplies,“ including a computer, printer and multicultural library and assistance from paid interns, to be funded by both the administrative and WSA budget.
The possibility of support for freshmen new to campus and living at 200 Church has not yet been established, but the expectation of organization immediately upon their arrival to the University was also discussed. In the fall semester, programs would be set-up in advance, so that residents would not be too consumed with organizing in their first semester.
”Students of the house this year will set up a schedule for this coming fall semester so the students aren’t just thrown in to form their own programs as freshmen, which is not feasible,“ Buehring said.
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