<ir="ltr">For the upcoming academic year, first Goodhue and third Myers will house freshmen only, breaking with the tradition of housing students of all years in all campus living spaces. Carleton decided to pilot freshmen floors after analyzing the results of a ResLife survey about on-campus living options. One of the survey questions was: “If it had been available when you began at Carleton, would you have been interested in a living community designated for first year students only?” Over 38 percent of respondents said yes. In other words, in a class of 500, 190 students would be interested in freshmen-only floors.
“Nothing changes for those who didn’t think it was needed, but we clearly have enough interest that some students want these things,” said Andrea Robinson, director of ResLife.“It’s important to note that we are not removing any type of room options, only adding.”
Likewise, Roy Cady-Kimble ’18, who will be a first Goodhue RA next year, said: “The survey showed interest, which speaks for itself. ResLife saw a niche where people want something changed, and they acted on that.” He acknowledged “a lot of people say freshmen floors is weird because Carleton has never done it before, but this is a change driven by student input.”
Myers and Goodhue were chosen as the pilot floors based on their size and layout, as well as the fact that they are currently predominantly freshmen living spaces, according to director of ResLife Andrea Robinson. Together, these two floors will house 90 freshmen, meaning the majority of freshmen will continue to live on floors with students from all years. Students will indicate their preference for a freshman-only floor as a part of the housing preferences survey they fill out over the summer.
“Our goal for all of our students is to provide a variety of housing options to meet their needs,” Robinson said.
Cady-Kimble sees the freshmen-only floors as a great way to build community and to create programming catered to first-year students. He also pointed out that many freshmen do not spend a lot of time with the upperclassmen on their floors, so living in a freshmen-only space could create a stronger floor community.
He decided to become an RA on first Goodhue because “I’m interested in a career in student affairs, and I see this as a good opportunity to create a positive environment that shapes freshmen and helps them transition to Carleton.” In terms of the future, Robinson said, “We will be using this experience to help us determine how to best move forward. There are no plans beyond this upcoming year yet. We will let this upcoming year help us determine the direction.”
ResLife also made other changes for housing for next year. Hill House will be the new home of CANOE, and Chaney, CANOE’s current home, is available as a draw space. Rather than using an application process, Parish is now a part of traditional room draw. And, based on the ResLife survey results, fourth Evans will be substance free.
