First-Year Bricks
"They are continuing to engage, in particular with first-year floors," Director of Residential Education Whitney Hogan ’07 said. Each first-year floor has an upperclass proctor and residential advisor (RA). And each of these duos is approaching the task of keeping their unit connected, just using different technology and slightly different approaches.
"I feel like they have done a good job doing what they normally do—some of it fun and goofy, like eating pasta all on the same night together. They’re sharing recipes from home or taking pics of their family meals," she said.
Plus, Res Life staff are doing a lot of one-on-one check-ins with their first-years and having "meaningful conversations when people need them."
In recent years, Residential Life has focused on training its student staff to engage in conflict resolution and "active listening," Hogan added. "I'm so grateful they have this skill set because they are well suited and trained to sit with people during this time that is causing a lot of grief."
Laila McCain ’21 and Timothy Solimine ’21 are the RA and proctor for Osher Hall's third floor. Since campus closed in March, they've kept up their tradition—which they started last fall—of regularly sending out sweet and funny videos to their first-years, "to keep their spirits up," Solimine said.
On Sundays, when they would have been having their "flinner," or "floor dinner," they've been offering "office hours," via Zoom, so any of their floormates can check in and chat. "It's a chill, informal time," McCain said.
Solimine added, "Our biggest worry going into this was that so much of our contact with the students was casually hanging out on the floor and being present, so this is our best way for creating that same environment virtually."
They've also been reaching out individually to each of their sixteen students. After the campus switched to remote learning, many of the first-years spoke to McCain and Solimine about their disappointment in not finishing the semester on campus, and missing some of the traditions they had heard so much about, like the Ivies spring concerts and the annual Spring Gala semi-formal. Some were sad not to simply experience the spring season on campus.
"We listen to them, and make sure they know we're here for them," Solimine said.
College Houses
Residents of Bowdoin's nine College Houses—which are responsible for organizing a lot of community-wide programs and specific programs for their first-year affiliates—have also stayed tight-knit, despite being scattered across the country and the world.
Every house is still holding regular Sunday meetings. While in the past students would have talked about upcoming events they were organizing and other house business, "now it is just them coming together to talk about how they're feeling, to keep up socially so they have a sense of community," Associate Director of Residential Education Stephanie Patterson said.
Baxter House proctor Brendan Pulsifer ’20 said many of the important components of his job are continuing, including support for individuals and keeping the group cohesive. "I'm still there as someone who can advocate for students when they need help, and I think a lot of students need help now more than ever," he said. "I can be a person they can talk to or who can mediate conflicts."
He's also working, with assistance from other Baxter residents, to ensure people stay in touch with one another. He instituted a pen-pal system, and housemates recently played bingo and had trivia night via Zoom.
After these weekly gatherings, Pulsifer says he "feels rejuvenated."
He continued: "It feels so good to see their faces again, and to see them all together and feel that group dynamic. Their personalities shine through the video camera. It's so good to be together again—not in the same way, but still in a good way."
Current College House residents have also been welcoming next year's residents who will take their place. Though the application process for College House residency began before spring break, the final selection occurred after the campus switched to remote learning. This year, 275 first-year students applied for 200 openings.
Patterson worked with a team of juniors and seniors, and her professional colleagues, to hold group chats online and figure out the best groupings of people.
Once they were informed of their placements, the upcoming residents of the College Houses started reaching out to one another to get to know their future housemates. "Now they're all connected," Patterson said. "Two-hundred people are having some semblance of community."
Current house residents have reached out to incoming housemates, inviting them to their weekly meetings, sharing ideas for programs they weren't able to organize this semester, and introducing them to the culture of College Houses.
