Downstairs in Gillette, there is a hall that has taken on an entirely new name this school year. The hall many students knew just as ‘Basement New’ in previous years has become the townhouse floor.
The townhouse floor is a new option for living on campus that combines the rules of a townhouse with the setting of a dormitory. Replacing the First Year Learning Community option, the townhouse floor is a “living on campus” plan brought back to Houghton after a long absence. The townhouse floor has open hours that span most of the day beginning at 8am and with longer weekend hours, just like the townhouses and the main lounges of the dormitories. The townhouse floor is furnished with more supplies and furniture than any of the other lounges in Gillette. It contains a very useful, spacious kitchen and comfy, clean couches. Down the hall, a variety of eye-catching pictures and drawings brought in or made by residents adds a welcoming appeal to the whole area. Along with the wall decorations placed by students, an elevator and a custodial office also reside here; something different from the other floors of Gillette.
Although the townhouse floor has all the same rules as a townhouse, they are still very much a part of the rest of Gillette. The floor participates in events held by the rest of the dormitory, but would also like to participate in townhouse-centered events in the future. The floor is a living option that could be described as “in between” living in Gillette and the townhouses. Living there gives residents a sense of closeness to the rest of Gillette, a shorter walk to campus buildings, but the freedom and responsibility of living in and taking care of a townhouse.
“It’s going well,” said junior, Rachel Wright, resident assistant (RA) of the townhouse floor. Wright calls the floor a “happy medium” and enjoys leading and living amongst the upperclassmen that she describes as, “an awesome bunch of residents.” She likes that they have a sense of maturity and a grip on what they want to do in life.
At double the size of a normal townhouse, the townhouse floor is home to sixteen residents.The townhouse floor is a privilege according to Wright, much like any upperclassmen living option. Though it is still early in the semester, Wright already shows great pleasure in her position as the townhouse floor’s RA. When told that she would be the RA of the townhouse floor, she immediately responded with a good attitude, saying, “That’s what I want to do.”
So far, the townhouse floor has been the location of a solid, focused, and successful atmosphere on the Houghton College campus. As for the future of the townhouse floor, Wright said it is “not set in stone,” but if all goes well this year, she thinks the townhouse floor will continue to be a living option in upcoming years.