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The fact that he might live with 22 females was both daunting and exciting to freshman Matt McCourt, current resident of Schumacher Hall.
When McCourt received his housing information packet this summer, the Whitworth Web site had not been updated to show that Schumacher was being converted into a male residence hall.
The decision to convert Schumacher, the former campus health center that was once home to 23 female residents each year, was made this summer in a meeting within the Student Life department.
“We had started with discussing the option of turning Schumacher into a freshman-only dorm before the housing lottery last year,” said Alan Jacob, associate director of student housing. “And because of that, it made the conversion pretty easy.”
Former residents were told before the housing lottery last spring that they would not be eligible for in-house requests, as the residence hall would become an all-freshman dorm this fall, Jacob said. At the time, it was unknown that Schumacher would become an all-male residence hall, he said.
However, the resident assistant and small group coordinator had already been hired.
“Once Schumacher had been changed, they were the first students notified,” resident director Sean Mulcahy said. “The RA who was in Schumacher was offered an RA position in Ballard and accepted it. The needs of the different living communities on campus were then assessed to see who would benefit the most from another female SGC and the SGC who was in Schumacher was offered a position in Stewart and accepted it.”
Jacob said with the larger number of incoming freshman men, the university needed more rooms in which to house them. If Schumacher had not been converted to a male residence hall, there would have been 60 men in the overflow housing category instead of the current 20 men, he said.
Another reason for the change was Schumacher’s proximity to the other residence halls on campus.
“With its distance from other dorms, there would be less of a chance of anything happening with guys walking back to the dorm in the dark,” Jacob said. “Since it is a bit apart from the other residence halls, the women have said that it gets a little creepy walking to the building late at night.”
Curtis Powell, Schumacher RA, said he is excited about the change and is looking forward to seeing how the guys take on the residence hall’s new role on campus.
Powell said he did not hear about the change until part-way through the summer. He was offered the chance to switch from being an RA in McMillan to his current position in Schumacher.
“There’s a little more meshing between the three dorms [McMillan, Ballard and Schumacher] than before, because the guys are wanting to connect,” Powell said.
Senior Lacey Offutt, a former Schumacher resident, said in an e-mail interview that she is sad about the change but is interested to see how the men living in Schumacher step into their new role on campus.
“I was disappointed that some of the traditions would probably end or be changed,” she said. “And I... hope that people don’t give the guys living there now a hard time for living in a former female dorm.”
Powell said Schumacher is working to be a positive influence on the Whitworth community.
“The guys in the dorm are creating an environment of their own,” Powell said. “They all have magnetic personalities.”
Offutt said she is excited for the guys who get to live there, knowing that living in Schumacher is a great experience.
“[Change] is something that the [Ballard, Schumacher, and McMillan] community will have to get used to, but they have adjusted well before and they’ll do it again and do their best to make everyone a part of the community,” Offutt said in the e-mail.
Jacob said he is excited about the change.
“I like it and think it’s really cool,” he said, smiling. “And if they keep it from smelling like an all-guys dorm, it’s a bonus.”
Contact Ira McIntosh at ira.mcintosh@whitworthian.com.
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