Geoff Allen
Viewpoints Editor
Last year was a rough year for just about every college student worldwide. More than ever, everyone was socially disconnected from one another and the sense of community students had built the previous years was reduced to small ‘pods’ of potential close contacts, while often maintaining a degree of social distance from other students for their own safety in the midst of the hysteria. Some of the heaviest casualties of this phenomenon were extracurricular organizations like Greek life and sports. Whether it was over certain individuals in the community not being cautious enough of COVID-19, or organization leaders weren’t doing enough to support the incoming underclassmen, old unresolved grievances resurfaced. For pride and fear, I witnessed a schism in one of my own which has left scars on the upperclassmen. 2020 was a chaotic time to be a part of any student group at the College. If I were to describe such a situation without the college context, it would sound like an apocalypse where humans are reduced fending for themselves. Yet, things did get better. The pandemic has become a lot more manageable as we approach our second anniversary since the virus became a worldwide problem.
Last semester was a major improvement for a lot of folks here at the College because, for once, the in-person social scene at Wooster was back. I still remember the first Viewpoint I published here at the Voice which was written by a peer of mine exclaiming how the return of parties is the equivalent of nature returning after an era of turmoil. This is not just because the administration got a little looser with their restrictions of social gatherings thanks to vaccines. Moreover, a large portion of this return was thanks to the social organizations such as Greek life and clubs who wanted to recreate what was there before the dark times. And they achieved this by sharing their space and houses with their fellow students. Houses at the College, as well as other colleges and universities, have always had the capacity to support the campus community through their groups. And yet, our college administration has also deemed these student-run spaces as a cancer that must be phased out due to the mistakes of the irresponsible.
As far as I could tell, my organization’s house has mostly served as a hub for all members of our sports team. As a first year, I basically lived there with my other class peers because it was all we knew beginning our academic career at the College. I admit that I was privileged for how kind and welcoming the upperclassmen were to us for it would be an additional place to meet after our regular meetings. Now, as a resident in one of these houses, my appreciation for Wooster’s housing program is enhanced by the community service requirement. Beyond the moral obligation to be benevolent to the greater Wooster city, it also helps me as a student get to know the permanent residents of Wooster beyond the narrow view most students who deal with “townies” on Beall may have due to reasonably negative encounters. I know I am not a minority in saying that organization houses are a great addition to the student body, and yet I know I’m far from being the only one who is perplexed by the housing program’s new policies over the years too. While the Wooster administration would like to keep their intentions subtle, it has become known for some time now that the College wants to put non-dorm housing on the chopping block for more apartments. Currently, it is nearly impossible for a new group to register their own house. Many speculate the cause for this is due to the negative reputation some Greek Life organization incidents have created for everyone else despite this not being a universal case amongst all social organizations. Neither is this administrative trend amongst other schools. This is a Wooster problem.
Greek life shouldn’t be the determining factor for the privileges everyone else has. I do agree that the College and the student culture should work to make the social life at the College safer. I also believe that not every campus house resident has organizational obligations to a group of students either. However, neither of these phenomena calls for erasure. For years, a friend has been talking to me about how he and his club friends have been working tirelessly to establish the College’s first religious-based housing to create a similar safe and open space for their community, breathing a new fresh light into Wooster’s marginalized communities. And yet, I can’t think how such a beautiful thing for them will be short-lived with rules such as the grandfather clause and bureaucratic agenda to shake up an essential part of any College community that prides itself on diversity inclusivity: it’s divisive.