Open Common Rooms: Are people using them?

Open common rooms have made their debut for the winter term at Hill. The prefect council worked with the Dean’s Office and Heads of Dorms Erin Ruane and Jason Coady to improve the coed common rooms from last year.

Leah Forrest ’18, head prefect of Upper School East, believes there is limited space to spend time with friends in the winter because no one wants to go outside.

“People are staying in their rooms and it weakens community bonds,” Forrest said. “The goal of the open common rooms is to combat the winter blues.”

Faculty members and prefects hope the open common rooms will be utilized. So far, there has been some visitation.

“Students shouldn’t be afraid,” Head Prefect Maddie Mitchell ‘18 said. “The common rooms are there for the students to use.”

Alex Wisneski ’18  thinks coed common rooms are a “great” idea.

“It was refreshing to be able to hang out with my friends in a place other than the student center and outside,”Wisneski said.

The rules on coed common rooms have changed from previous years.

“Now, there is a higher level of trust between faculty and students,” Mitchell said.

This year, students of the opposite sex may visit each other’s common rooms, during specific hours, without having to seek faculty permission. Students are encouraged to spend quality time with members of the opposite sex.

“A problem that I foresee is students confusing open common rooms with open houses. Lines could be blurred,” Forrest said.

During open common rooms, students are only allowed to enter the common room areas. They are not allowed to use bathrooms or enter dorm rooms.

Open common room rules also differ for each dorm. For example, in Upper School students must enter through the side entrances instead of the main ones. However, in Wendell, students can only enter through the main entrance. In Dutch Village, open common rooms are never allowed.

“I hope students will remember that having open common rooms is a privilege, not a right,” Mitchell said. “It’s important we abide by the rules and be respectful of the students and teachers who live in each dorm.”

Erin Ruane, head dorm parent of Upper School East is excited to give students the opportunity to spend time in a place that isn’t the student center or the library

“I hope this helps students build healthy relationships,” Ruane said.

“Faculty have been so willing to listen to our problems and wanting to improve the culture at Hill,” Forrest said.

Many faculty members believe introducing open common rooms is an effective way to help foster healthy relationships between the sexes on campus. This seems to be just one step towards a larger faculty initiative to improve the culture. Overall, students have shown great enthusiasm over the open commons rooms.