By Taylor Yancey//It has been over 10 years since Hood College decided to allow males to attend the institution as full time students. Throughout those 10 years the staff at Hood has accommodated to both the male and female students.

Hood College students are now in the second semester of the 2015-2016 academic year, and there have been discussions regarding dorm changes. There was recently an open forum held on campus by the Student Government Association (SGA) that discussed the changes that will be implemented in the fall of 2016. This forum was held on February 26, 2016.

Some students were concerned with what these changes would consist of so the forum granted them an opportunity to gain some clarity.

Sarah Scott, a House Council representative for Shriner Hall said, “I heard that within the next 10 years Shriner will no longer be an all-girls dorm. I can’t imagine what that will be like.” Scott is a sophomore and will be graduating Hood in the winter of 2017.

At the beginning of the 2015-2016 semester, all of the students were asked to participate in an anonymous survey that featured questions about dorm life, both currently and in the future. The results of the survey were released and discussed at the open forum.

Matt Troutman, Director of Residence Life and Student Contact said, “These changes will take place this fall. I would say that there were some loud voices initially not supportive or seeking to learn more information.”

These changes were brought up in order to create a better living environment for the students. Troutman said “In addition, we will try to have full occupancy on campus to have a robust campus life.”

Some of the reported changes include, granting the option for girls and boys to room together, transforming the only all-girl dorm into a coed dorm, and reserving both Smith and Memorial Halls.

Sign in front of Memorial Hall.

Resident Advisor, Jayda Blount said, “Sometimes change can be a good thing. These new changes have the potential to be amazing, but only time will tell.”

Blount is a junior at Hood College and this is her first year as a resident advisor. “I will be a head RA next year, so I am excited to see how the students will react to these changes.”

“Current students are used to the current model of having upperclass and first-year students living together in the same building (on different floors). Because of this, there is a high building affinity and most students were not initially supportive of this change.” Troutman said.

Troutman said that the Student Life Department will monitor these changes and act accordingly within the next two years. The students will need some time to adjust to these changes.

Ashley Abrew, a Hood Alum, said, “You cannot be afraid of change. Life is what you make it, so there is no use in being afraid of what may come.” Abrew recently graduated in 2015, but still keeps in touch with a few students on the campus. Upon hearing rumors of these changes, Abrew says that she is excited for the upcoming freshmen.

Hood College is not the first institution to introduce this idea of coed living situations.

As of right now the institution is still preparing and researching so that the best decisions will be made and everyone will be accommodated.

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