Fields and Schoenfeldt Hall foster dorm identity with numerous social events
By Rosemary Peters
As fire and smoke swirled in the air Friday night in front of Fields and Schoenfeldt Hall, many passersby were caused to wonder, at least for a second, if some calamity had happened at the brand new building.
But instead of a tragedy, these passersby instead found a collection of students laughing joking and making s'mores.
This bonfire was just one of many social events the new dorms have planned in order to foster Fields and Schoenfeldt spirit.
"Everyone likes to have fun, but it's hard to say what fun will endure 30 years from now," Fields Hall Director Katie Cashman said.
Much of that fun and tradition building falls on the shoulders of the residents themselves.
"Whatever happens happens. It's going to be a very organic process," senior RA Aaron Ragsdale said. "We can do as much as we want, but in the end it's up to the residents to see what sticks."
According to Ragsdale and the other resident assistants, they think that Fields and Schoenfeldt will have an especially unique personality due to the fact that many of the residents hail from UP's eight other resident halls.
"There are different people coming together with ideas from their last year of living in the dorms and they want to incorporate many of their experiences into the new dorm while making it original," he said.
The RA's are using the residents' jumble of experiences to their advantage. By using polling devices from surveys to a suggestion bulletin board, the RAs are trying to start traditions the entire hall will enjoy. According to Schoenfeldt junior RA Nick Etzel, they are also making it a point to "chat up a storm" with the residents to hear as many voices and ideas as possible.
Many events such as Friday night's bonfire are already in the works. A second activity in the works is an all school dance. The dance will be next Saturday in the basement and will be DJ'ed by freshman Schoenfeldt resident Cris Hernandez.
Other ideas in the works include a three-tier tea party on Monday nights, a Mrs. Fields cooking contest and a constant smattering of sports games. Schoenfeldt residents also want to start the Padre Pilots.
The Padre Pilots would cheer on sporting events and would be in the same vein as the Christie crazies and the Villa Drum Squad, but instead of kilts or body paint they would wear white capes adorned with a Pilot "P."
"The traditions in other halls are not flashy and full of lights," junior Erica Swanson said. "They are simple things that people enjoy."
While Fields and Schoenfeldt want to create a community on the Haggerty and Tyson Hall's side of campus, the RA's admit that they worry about the dorm and its residents becoming isolated.
"We don't know what reputation our dorms will have, but we do know that we don't want it to be called exclusive," senior RA Ryan LeClaire said.
In order to prevent this exclusivity and isolation, the RAs are working on planning events that will get people from all over campus to visit the new dorms. To further help Fields and Schoenfeldt residents spread their social wings, the RAs are also trying to plan activities with the floors from other dorms.
A second feature that makes the character of the new dorms unique is the fact that it houses almost four times as many seniors as any of the other dorm on campus.
"We are seeing a real collaboration between years," Swanson said. "Seniors, juniors, and sophomores are seeking out the freshmen and reaching out to them. At the same time, the freshmen are responding and reaching back. It's a very positive atmosphere."
This sentiment is echoed by Residence Life Director Mike Walsh.
"We think the juniors and seniors will be great role models," Walsh said. "The ones who came back are the ones who had a positive experience in the residence halls and they tend to be very involved and phenomenal leaders."
