After more than four years of being closed for construction, Sylvester House has reopened, either allowing a great opportunity for the new house to seize the moment and foster new traditions and house culture, but students say that process has been a bit shaky.
For decades, the houses on Principia campus have provided students with social events in an effort to help craft a feeling of belonging. House culture and pride have been able to grow for years, creating traditions that many seniors today can look back upon and reminisce about. Since the beginning of the year, Sylvester has been trying to figure out how to provide house culture for its students, and many have seen a recent shift in house culture in their second semester. What’s happening differently?
The debut of Syl this fall was not as great as some students would have hoped. Some say that’s understandable, given that there was no familiarity to build upon. The house rarely came together, and very little of the freshman hall remained in the house the following semester. It can be tricky to get a whole house to interact, especially when there is little to no history of how things are run. Overall, the key to creating engagement in any given house is the active leadership roles of the house board, students and staff said.
New co-presidents of Syl, Ben Poznick and Jacob Warrick, have been working on developing the energy they say is necessary to build house culture. With help from the rest of the board, they have executed ideas in an effort to engage the students with each other and to give them a good time.
“The main thing I wanted to include when I was president was just creating a more active house and house board. The houses at Prin can be really fun if they’re used properly…but when not much happens, then it is a lot less enjoyable,” said Warrick. House culture can help create an environment that people enjoy and want to stay in, he added.
This effort hasn’t gone unnoticed by students in the house. Freshman Angel Cooley-Knotts, who has lived in Syl for both semesters so far, notes, “There hasn’t been a whole shift in house culture yet, but we’re on the way to a shift. New ideas are being brought up, so I guess there’s a shift in the importance of new culture.”
This subtle shift in importance is key for morale and excitement, as the early stages of opening a house can have a slow start, they said.
“Just seeing the different interactions and different organizations, I think we are in the right direction to fortify and create a house culture for ourselves,” said Syl metahead, Gui Klann Milla, who has been a part of the house board both semesters. “We still have a lot to do and to work on, but as things are going right now, I’m really happy with how it is.”
The house is strengthening on the inside and forming a core that will eventually show on the outside, Milla said.
Though a strong foundation and center are important, they have not discounted the simple steps of action.
“I think making things happen is my number one focus because I think it doesn’t matter how much work you put into behind the scenes, if events don’t happen and people aren’t coming together regularly, then nothing is being built and nothing is going to stick around,” Co-president Ben Poznick said.
The board have tried a couple new things to that end: Syl Grill and Syl Cafe. Syl Grill invites all members of Principia’s community to a friendly, free barbecue on Syl’s front lawn and offers a place to get to know one another and take a break from studying. Poznick and Warrick said they did this last semester on the chapel green, but having the house funding to work off of has made it a lot easier to do more frequently. Syl Cafe is more directed toward the house, where it offers students a more appealing option to breakfast with coffee and donuts before church, and another connection point that house members can go to weekly.
The co-presidents and others on the board will be graduating this semester, but they hope their ideas won’t die. The board is split fairly evenly with seniors to underclassmen, so the new board members will be able to continue fostering their idea of taking action. Poznick and Warrick both said they learned from with others in leadership roles in their previous house, Lowrey. “I think we’ve seen the possibilities and how quickly someone can take action on something and get things done,” said Poznick. “It’s definitely helpful to have examples to draw from and understand what’s possible.”
