[caption id="attachment_709" align="alignright" width="300"]
Photograph by Micah Hancock[/caption]
By Kyla Martin
Looking out the window of English Hall room 225 just a month ago revealed a thick line of trees and an open field of grass. Now, the view reaches across a field of mud all the way to the sand courts.The new residence hall on the south end of campus is under construction, the physical layout all decided. What is still up for debate are the students who will live there and the identity it will assume.
While this is the first instance of two dorms being attached, the new dorm will have a name and staff (except the hall director) separate from Gerig, according to Vice President for Student Development Skip Trudeau.
"This is a totally new hall," Trudeau said. "It is not an addition to Gerig. We're really looking for this building to . . . create its own identity."
Residence Life is focussing on keeping the ages diverse, with freshmen and upperclassmen filling its rooms.
"Hopefully we have a decent amount of response from upperclassmen who would be willing to take that leap," said Dean of Resident Life and Discipleship Steve Morley. "Because that is . . . counter to the norm."
Residence Life is asking student leaders of a variety of areas on campus to move into the dorm next year, according to Morley. Not just to serve as P.A.'s, but also as upperclassmen leaders on their wings.
"My hope is that some stellar students from around all campus residence halls will see the amazing opportunity to move to the new residence to help shape new student culture," said Bergwall Hall Director Jake Drake. "To me this sounds like an amazing adventure and a great way to develop your own style of leadership."
Trudeau, Morley, Drake and English Hall Director Sara James have already spoken with students interested in moving to the new dorm next fall.
With a 5,000 to 6,000 square foot patio, according to Morley, and a water feature with two pools of water and about a 9 foot waterfall connecting the two, according to Trudeau, the new dorm will attract students from all over campus.
"We see it as kind of becoming more of a . . . destination for outdoor programs," Trudeau said.
James is most interested in the the traditions that will emerge with the new mix of students. Of particular interest to students, the water feature should create some entertainment for residents.
"We know we'll have students down in the water," Trudeau said. "It'll probably be prohibited for liability reasons."
Featuring all two-man rooms, each floor will house roughly 50 students and two P.A.s with a bottom floor of men and two top floors of women.
"It is very often that having both male and female residence leaves the ample space and opportunity for platonic friendships to occur either informally through open houses or hanging out in the lounge," Drake said. "Some research has shown, through a recent MAHE graduate, that students engaging in a co-ed residence hall experience have a higher satisfaction with friendships of the opposite gender than students in a traditional single gender residence hall."
New hall is air conditioned, according to James, with corridor-style halls, communal bathrooms and lobbies on each floor.
"I think that the physical layout of a building makes a big difference in how the community is and how it's sustained," James said.
Residence Life is hoping to convert some rooms on the center wings of Olson back to lobby space as well as offer two-man rooms in the upper two floors of Bergwall, according to Morley.
These changes could happen as soon as this summer or phased in over the next couple of years.
Morley is in talks with former and current hall directors Sarah Hightower and Lisa Barber to ensure this will be a "healthy addition."
At first, fewer students will live off-campus, but when Fairlane falls, according to Morley, the number will return to what it is now.
"I think it's going to take shape . . . over time," Morley said. "It's probably not all going to be in place next August because some of those things need to evolve over time."
