The quiet hum of a vacuum upstairs and a faint hint of Febreze spill out as the old, wooden door to the renovated Watkins house swings open. Refurbished hardwood floors creak beneath the feet of Hillsdale men playing Ping-Pong and conversing in a neat, spacious common room. These men know firsthand the change their house has undergone.
The Hillsdale College Administration spent $140,000 renovating the Watkins house, formerly the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house, over the summer. The house acts as a dorm for 17 male students, but Dean of Men Aaron Petersen says DSP will likely occupy the house again.
“It was dirty, dark, and in need of major updating, and now it is light, beautiful, and updated,” Petersen said. “The tentative plan is to have the men of Delta Sigma Phi working hard on their fraternity’s purpose and the expectation is that they can earn the chapter house back. We anticipate two good years and then the third year returning to the house if everything goes well.”
The condition of the house caused major reservations for some students considering living in the space last year. Broken glass, crumbling construction, and outdated electrical and heating equipment raised eyebrows.
“It looked like something out of a television show,” Sophomore and Watkins Resident Adviser Phil Wegmann said. “But it is better now. I could not go back to living in a dorm.”
After tearing down long vines of ivy climbing the walls of the house, workers replaced the windows and shutters, adding a fresh coat of paint as well. They also repaired the front porch, driveway, and sidewalk along with adding new landscaping.
Inside, the refurbished hardwood floor, new tile, and new carpet brighten the entire space. The administration also had the electrical wiring and floor-heating mechanisms repaired and walls knocked down to open the floor plan. Despite all these changes, Wegmann and his fellow RA, sophomore Garrett West, say it is the men of the house who really make the difference.
“It was really cool. We were both hesitant because of the condition of the house, but it became really interesting when they told us we were going to be able to hand pick the guys,” Wegmann said. “So, Garret was able to bring a lot of his friends over from Galloway and I was able to bring some of my guys from Simpson to create a really great group.”
The men also boast of having the most culturally diverse house on campus.
“We have an Asian in Banovetz, African-American in Kadeem, a foreign nationalist from Belgium in Alex Winston, and an Iranian in Salehzadeh,” Wegmann said. “And in all our people we have both Catholics and Protestants. It’s like Hillsdale’s United Nations.”
Associate Dean of Men Jeffrey Rogers lives in an apartment attached to the house.
“If there’s an issue they can come get me and I check on them, but I’m not in their face so it is almost like they are in their own house,” Rogers said. “It’s not like I’m walking through there in my underwear.”
Rogers, who lived in the Alpha Tau Omega house last year, is enjoying the changes as much as the students.
“My room was next to the stairs right where the cars drove by and the kitchen so you have college students getting the munchies at two in the morning waking me up,” Rogers said. “I haven’t had any problems out of the guys and I think that they are very grateful and they understand the opportunity and want to represent well.”
Wegmann and West say they have a few events planned for mid-semester to get students out to the house for a good time.
“If you look at this place, it is set up for a dance party,” Wegmann said. “It is set up for a fall festival. Right now, we are just focusing on coming together and becoming really good friends.”
With all these improvements, the house’s distance from campus would seem to be a downside. Wegmann, however, sees it as positive.
“I think that because we are far away from campus we are all holding each other accountable and working towards a common goal which is living in a civil community,” he said. “No one can hold a grudge against someone else and no one can get in someone else’s business. It is just an issue of coming together and holding each other accountable to what this house can become.”
The administration recently put a flat screen television in the living room, and the Watkins men look forward to a promised pool table in the coming weeks.
“Hillsdale talks so often about self-government, and I think that our house is the perfect microcosm of that,” Wegmann said. “We’re lucky to have a solid group of guys here that are just fantastic.”
