At 7 pm on Tuesday, Director of Residence Life Pete Synder went dormstorming with Brian Reece, theme house organizer, to gather Nugent first-floor residents reactions to the proposed RPI theme house. The theme house would occupy Nugent Hall’s basement storage area and lounge, while its members would reside on the first floor.
The theme house proposal cleared a major hurdle on its way towards becoming a reality next semester. At least seven of the 18 first floor residents are graduating seniors, and another resident plans to move off campus. Several other undergraduate students who were in their rooms during the dormstorming were supportive of the initiative.
The greatest concern residents expressed was the noise level associated with the live performances that are planned for the basement storage area of Nugent Hall. Other concerns included the late release of the letter explaining the proposal, which did not appear until Friday, right before President’s Day weekend. The letter did not go to Nugent residents on the second, third, or fourth floors.
The theme house proposal in its current form would work to accommodate current residents who plan on squatting for housing next Fall by moving them upstairs to the second or third floor of Nugent Hall. "I’m glad we decided to do this," Snyder said of the dormstorming.
Chris Puleo, another key theme house organizer, believes that the initiative is long over due. "The point of the theme house is to provide on-campus housing that offers a complete living experience, not just a room. It’s going to be a place where students can go and hang out, take part in performances, and hear live music—it’s going to provide a new social outlet for on-campus students,"
According to the theme house proposal submitted to Residence Life, its stated goal is to create a special-interest housing unit that encourages media, arts, and live performances in an intimate "coffeehouse" setting. The proposal also claims to benefit Rensselaer by creating an alternative community environment apart from greek life where all students can feel welcome.
The theme house hopes to achieve these aims by holding weekly Open Mic nights, a larger showcase in conjunction with Mothers,’ a theme house group trip, sponsoring a charity commitment, and featuring a library or gallery of student works.
"Our experience this year on campus as sophomores forced us to look at our situation and the situation on this campus in comparison to those found at other schools," said Reece. After researching the situation, Puleo and Reece approached Residence Life in the middle of last semester with a rough sketch of a theme house proposal.
"We’ve tried this sort of thing in the past, and we’ve learned if theme-based housing is initiated by students it won’t be successful," said Snyder. Puleo and Reece are working to see their theme house special-interest housing idea become a reality for Fall 2001.
Of the first theme house meeting held last Thrusday, Puleo said, "This meeting shows that others are definitely interested in the idea, nearly enough to meet the requirements set by Residence Life."
Residence Life required that the theme house have at least 10 students interested becoming residents next semester, with a maximum number of residents set at 18, which is the capacity of the first floor of Nugent.
The theme house organizers plan to continue holding meetings on Thursdays at 9 pm to hammer out the details and begin the application process with other interested students.
"If Nugent first-floor residents gave us negative feedback, it would have been very difficult for the proposal to go forward. It would not have made sense for us to displace one community in order to create another," said Snyder.
