French House co-president Melissa Pritchard ’11 reported receiving over 30 applicants for 16 spots, while Charles Drew Memorial Culture House president Amanda Bass ’11E said that Drew received 24 applications, “a record number.” In addition, Health and Wellness Quarter received “an abnormally great number of applications,” said co-president Gregory Campeau ’11.
Because the quantity of available rooms in each theme house does not change from year to year, this year’s aspiring residents faced more competition than in the past. Bass summarized the difficult admissions process: the two house presidents “carefully reviewed all of the applications, conducted interviews with each applicant and made decisions based upon the vision of the house, what the applicant can bring to the House and the applicant’s commitment” to the mission of the house. Only Humphries House (the Zu) does not require applications; however, President Leslie Moclock ’10E said that the random lottery to determine Zu residents included five to 10 more hopefuls than in recent years.
According to the presidents, rising sophomores made up the majority of the theme house applicant pools except in Humphries House, and most of the residents next year will be from the Class of ’12.
Freshmen cited concerns about Room Draw as a reason to apply to theme houses. “I’ve been warned that Room Draw is a very scary experience and I heard horror stories about people getting left out of room draw groups. I just didn’t want to deal with the stress,” said Kayleigh O’Keeffe ’12, who applied to both Spanish House and La Casa.
Christopher Lim ’12, who will live in Asian Culture House next year, agreed: “I felt deathly allergic to Room Draw. Some people take the attitude that it’s only one year and they don’t really care where they live, but when you think about it, it’s one of only four years.”
Theme house presidents expressed an awareness of the issue that fear of Room Draw, not genuine interest in the house, may be the primary motivation for freshman applicants. When asked to account for the large number of applicants, Pritchard said: “They’re closing Tyler, Plimpton and the Mods, and all the sophomores want singles next year.”
However, several presidents praised the applicants’ passion. “People seem excited about living in La Casa,” reported president Devon Ellington ’10. However, he cautioned: “We’ll have to wait and see if that translates into actual productivity.”
“Based upon the content of the applications and the ideas expressed during the interviews I believe that students will be enthusiastic about organizing theme house events next year,” assessed Bass.
Moreover, Moclock explained, “Because the day-to-day rhythm of living [in the Zu] is our ongoing house ‘event,’ and people come here because they are interested in that lifestyle, enthusiasm for house life is generally pretty high. Some people slack off, obviously, some don’t always fit, and some groups are crazy and boisterous while others are more introverted, but wonderful dinners always get made and the house holds together somehow.”
It is this enduring enthusiasm that keeps some upperclassmen returning to theme housing even after the uncertainty of Room Draw is no longer a threat. “It is my home,” wrote Moclock. “It is Amherst to me.”