On Feb. 11, student members and faculty and staff affiliates of residential colleges and residential communities gathered in the lobby of the Josephine Louis Theatre to sip warm hot cocoa topped with marshmallows and peppermint flakes as they waited to see the highly-anticipated “Vinegar Tom.”
Tag: Residential Services
To give students an outlet to say “yes” to their inner artist or performer, Helicon and the Residential College Board (RCB) recently launched a new collaboration that took advantage of the newest residential venue on campus. They conceived Artfest as a way for students to share their love for literary and visual arts in a non-competitive environment.
On Feb. 17, Melissa Foster, the Faculty-in-Residence for Shepard Hall and 1838 Chicago, invited a group of students in her residential community to see Ryan Coogler’s Marvel blockbuster, Black Panther, during its opening weekend.
Tucked in the basement of Shepard Hall is the Student Engagement Center. By day, the space is a classroom, but most evenings, the desks are pushed aside, and it becomes a place for students to grow and learn in a less traditional sense. Students learn to cook in the gorgeous demonstration kitchen, play games with friends, hold club meetings, and get to know other residents.
The Engagement Center was created during Shepard Hall’s 2015-16 renovation, and since then it has been providing opportunities for community building and important conversations. With the University’s ongoing 10-year Housing Master Plan, spaces like Shepard’s Engagement Center will soon exist in every residential neighborhood, allowing students, staff, and faculty to build and strengthen their communities.
On Wednesday, January 24, Northwestern President Morton Schapiro and other members of the Northwestern community joined together to celebrate the renovation and re-opening of Willard Hall. At the open house, speakers acknowledged the work of the architects and contractors responsible for carrying out the renovations, celebrated Willard’s 80-year history, and placed the re-opening in the context of Northwestern’s ten-year Housing Master Plan.
The end of the quarter means Northwestern students get to go home and see family soon, but it also means the culmination of three months of classes and learning. It’s a fast-paced and busy time, and students often feel anxious or even overwhelmed. Elder’s Faculty-in-Residence, Jake Smith and Freda Love Smith have seen it all before.
It’s the Tuesday of Weinberg College’s reading week, a time when many Northwestern students huddle in the library to prepare for a gauntlet of final exams, papers, and projects. But 560 Lincoln Residence Hall’s ground floor is buzzing as students go from table to table, eating healthy study snacks (including fresh fruit, a yogurt bar and individual hummus and almond butter cups), playing games, crafting, and winning prizes. The lights are bright, the music is cheery, and the atmosphere is all about relaxation. This is how Northwestern students living on campus relieve stress during the busiest time of the quarter.
Shepard Hall’s Engagement Center was definitely unique to Northwestern, but it was not yet uniquely Northwestern. With a new school year starting, it was time to change that.
It’s a few minutes after midnight on a Friday, and Ben Kraft, a Shepard Hall Resident Assistant (RA), bursts through the door in a full tuxedo, classical music spilling out from the speaker he’s carrying. He’s not usually this dressed up — he’s just come back from an opera downtown — but it’s not a bad entrance.
Sometimes it can seem like there’s construction everywhere you turn at Northwestern, but then a beautiful new building appears on campus and you forget all about how difficult it was to navigate the orange cones and green fences around every corner thanks to the amazing new facilities for you to enjoy. Next year, students living on campus have two new (or renovated) residence halls to look forward to – 560 Lincoln and Willard.