Koon resident assistants Madison Gilbert and Lauren Bixler pose for a photograph in the dorm. Courtesy | Megan Li

Hillsdale College’s Ezra L. Koon Residence has changed from a men’s dorm to a women’s dorm for the 2024-2025 school year.

Dean of Women Rebekah Dell said the residents of Koon are determined by Hillsdale’s housing capacities and student body breakdown.

“Sometimes we have more women versus men, or the demands shift,” Dell said. “If we’re short 20 beds on the women’s side, we grab Koon or the same on the guys’ side — we can give it back to them.”

The demand for off-campus housing for women was low this year, according to Dell, resulting in a need for increased women’s on-campus housing. The dorm houses 26 women in total.

“It’s truly just one of those things that varies each year based on the number of incoming freshmen, the number of students that accept or deny their off campus permission, and then the number of students that plan to return,” Dell said.

While the college typically had considered Koon to be a men’s residence hall, it was a women’s dorm as recently as two years ago. 

“We had great staff there, and the community was wonderful,” Dell said. “So we weren’t really nervous to switch it back to a women’s residence hall because we had seen that be so successful.”

This year, junior Madison Gilbert and sophomore Lauren Bixler serve as Koon’s two resident assistants.

Gilbert said she was happy to have been placed in Koon. According to Gilbert, a majority of the dorm is a mix of former Olds residents and track and cross country athletes. 

“I love big groups, but smaller communities is where my heart’s at,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert said she thought being head RA of Koon was a great opportunity for her to grow in leadership.

“Being able to look out for girls is something that I really love for promoting dorm culture,” Gilbert said. 

Gilbert said she is grateful to the deans for the RA pairing they chose.

“The deans are magical,” Gilbert said. “Lauren really compliments my rough edges. It was really a beautiful pairing.”

Gilbert said she saw the change as a way to promote a new culture, as there was no culture already withstanding. 

“It’s something that we did really well in Benzing last year — to be able to have a community of tight knit girls and especially because this was a men’s dorm last year,” Gilbert said.

Bixler said she has been walking around the dorm, seeing what she could do to make it into a homey space, including changing out the bath mats and decorating the communal bathroom areas. 

Sophomore Stephanie Surmacz said she loves living in Koon so far. 

“It’s so cozy,” Surmacz said. “Especially now that it’s all decorated, and everyone’s coming in. It’s so easy to run into people and stop to chat.”

The RAs plan to host movie nights and cooking nights, with a menu of anything from dumplings to charcuterie.

“I just love connecting with people over food,” Bixler said. 

Dell said Koon is a great fit for women who want community on a smaller scale.

“The thing I really like to do is make sure that we have some variety and living experiences and housing environment for women,” Dell said.