With the constant influx of large freshmen classes, Hillsdale College has started converting off-campus houses into men’s residences.
In 2012-2013, two new men’s dormitories will be added to the list of official residences: the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house, and the apartments behind Simpson Residence.
Dean of Men Aaron Petersen said 17 to 20 sophomores will move to the DSP house — which will be called the Watkins House — at least for the next year.
Freshmen Phil Wegmann and Garrett West, who will be the Watkins resident assistants, said the college is planning to “drop some serious money” to fix up the house while leaving the feel and character of the building intact.
“What Garrett and I want to find in the house is just a chill place to hang out,” Wegmann said. “Get a good group of guys together to really build some community and study and have a good time.”
Although the house is expected to return to DSP control in 2013, West said that will depend on the fraternity’s actions.
“Right now [the Watkins House] is just full of so many possibilities,” Wegmann said. “The house has to determine what its character is going to be like. But we’ve recruited some really great guys right now, and we’re looking to fill a few more spots.”
For the apartment complex behind Simpson called Park Place, Petersen hired junior Alex Tiren to be the head RA. The college purchased the building after it was foreclosed on last year, and Petersen said he plans on moving 16 upperclassmen plus two RAs there next semester.
Tiren said the goal is to give men who couldn’t get off campus another option. Park Place, which will have a new name by next semester, is made up of suites with full bathrooms and kitchens, but will cost the same as the dorms.
“It’s basically nicer than the Suites for cheaper than the Suites,” Tiren said.
Petersen said hiring Tiren, currently an RA in Niedfeldt Residence, out of the dorm opened up the opportunity to hire and train a new, younger RA in his place. In fact, Tiren’s move is one of a slew of changes for Niedfeldt, which will have an expanded staff next year, with four half RAs, one full RA, a head RA, and junior Greg Barry as the new house director.
Senior Joe Hersey, the current Niedfeldt house director, said moving to a system with more half RAs instead of a smaller number of full RAs allows the college to train underclassmen. It also gives younger students a chance to prove themselves before moving to a more full-time position.
“The one thing that we had to deal with last year was we had [junior] RAs who literally were just doing nothing,” he said. “So the half RA seems like a way to see if people are doing well before you give them a larger [job].”
Another incentive, Petersen said, is that a good RA is usually the type of person heavily involved elsewhere on campus, so at times the full RA job can become burdensome.
“It’s just more hands on deck,” Petersen said. “We get more guys involved in the leadership.”
