At a university struggling to maintain its status as a top academic establishment while simultaneously coping with the demands that besiege a public institution, there is no issue more pressing than the organization of housing and student support structures. While there is currently a great deal of discussion in our community concerning on and off-Grounds housing and fraternity residency, the status of Brown College, one of the most interesting residential situations at the University, routinely goes unnoticed. This is unfortunate, for hidden away in its nook on Monroe Hill, a great University resource is going to waste.
Brown College is the University's only real example of a residential college -- an arrangement designed to meld housing, academics, advising and social functions into a comprehensive whole. Top institutions such as Oxford, Harvard and Yale have long made use of these sub-communities of undergrads and faculty to better the support structures proffered to students.
But long gone are the days when such arrangements were prevalent on Grounds. As soon as our population overgrew the Lawn and the Range, the University lost the ability to provide all students with the kind of tight-knit housing popular at the Ivies.
Still, administrators have long recognized the need to offer support structures akin to those of its peer institutions -- and for good reason. Many students need the kind of support a residential college affords. This was surely part of the inspiration behind Brown College, converted from standard housing to a residential college in 1986. And like residential college programs at other top schools, Brown offers myriad forms of special support -- unique course opportunities, close ties with faculty, not to mention the best piece of real estate outside the Academical Village.
But to most students, this is all a mystery, because unlike residential colleges at other schools, which are an integral part of their host institutions, Brown College is far removed from most aspects of University life. Instead of providing an attractive option for any student interested in a more personal University experience, Brown College has become an insular and detached entity.
To prospective students surveying housing options, Brown College's appearance as an open residential college experience is quickly tempered by the counter-culture slant that characterizes its application and activities. As a pre-frosh intrigued by Brown's academic offerings and desirable location, I was turned off by Web sites boasting Star Wars-themed functions and other bizarre, self-centered events. I saw little to indicate the U.Va. experience and the Brown College experience were not mutually exclusive.
Life at the University has not proven the application process misleading. While many individual students in Brown College participate in diverse University activities, the institution itself shows very little overlap with the community at large. Brown College events, save fundraisers, are rarely well advertised to the student body. Instead of functioning as a vibrant part of the academic and social landscape, Brown College propagates its existence as a counterculture clique.
One could argue that Brown offers an option that appeals to a brand of student not interested in either standard dorm residency, independent off-Grounds living or Greek residential life. And while it is wonderful for students interested in any particular kind of college experience to find their niche, it is regrettable that a specific sect dominates the University's sole residential college.
On Grounds, most student groups enrich the community at large not only by offering membership, but by contributing to the student body's intellectual melting pot. Even highly selective groups such as the Jefferson and Washington Societies offer widely advertised speakers and social events for all to attend. Yet despite the wonderful piece of property with which it is endowed and the privilege of selecting its own members, Brown College appears virtually dead every day. The quad behind Monroe Hill goes unused, and students have to dig deep just to find information about upcoming courses, speakers or events. Simply put, Brown College is not an involved, welcoming part of the community.
In an era when the University is striving to offer students with quality academic and social options, Brown College can no longer remain secluded. It is time for Brown's student leaders to step up and open the doors of an institution with such potential to the community.
The Brown application process should be seriously revised, substituting a slate of balanced inquiries for the goofy, off-beat questions currently in place (e.g. "Free fall terminated by pavement. Your last nuanced thought:") -- or, student-reviewed applications should be abolished altogether in favor of a lottery. As noted on the Brown College Web site, any student interested in the benefits of a residential college is likely qualified to participate. Similarly, current and future Brown students should endeavor to turn the college into an institution that compliments the University at large.
We should not have to choose between mainstream life and a residential college-style community -- at a school of the University's caliber they should be one and the same.
Nick Chapin's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached a nchapin@cavalierdaily.com
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