Believe it or not, your mom wasn’t joking when she told you, “Big things come in small packages.”
Though the smallest male and female dorms on campus, West and Hospers halls contain anything but undersized or underdog dorm life.
The smaller residence area may in fact enhance the overall dorm experience of community.
“It is a place where there is a great community not only on each floor but throughout the dorm,” Annabell DuMez, Hospers RD, said. “Hospers is like Cheers – ‘Everybody knows your name.’”
West RD Seth Currier also takes pride in the close-knit community of West. “I love being able to live in community with these guys,” he said. “They are living together, learning together, growing together and growing closer to God together.”
Such tight-knit community life becomes especially active during the unique and sometimes quirky events held by the dorms.
Hospers Hall recently held its first “Dude Daze” week, in which the ladies were encouraged to pay tribute to the male way of life by dressing up in camouflage and lumberjack apparel, participating in “Mini-Man Olympics” with manly events such as push-ups, log-throwing and spitting, playing video games and watching masculine movies like Gladiator together.
DuMez describes “Dude Daze” as one of the goofiest events Hospers has ever held.
“It was an experiment and caused a lot of great conversations,” she said.
West Hall has some original events of its own. Every year the guys get together for “72-hour Bible read” where they collectively read the Bible out loud cover to cover. This year it took 69 hours and 53 minutes.
The West Hall Fall Retreat is also an annual opportunity for West guys to enjoy each other’s company and relax around a fire. But don’t let this image of lazy guys kicking back roasting marshmallows fool you.
“We don’t call it a retreat in West Hall,” Currier said. “We call it an Attack because we do not retreat.”
As the end of the semester is fast approaching, both dorms have more good times to cram in before the students go their separate ways for break.
In addition to their weekly small group meetings and study breaks, daily devotionals and bi-weekly Senior Suppers, Hospers Hall has a fun-filled Christmas party and financial awareness meeting coming up.
Along with bi-weekly documentary and prayer/praise nights, West Hall also has its annual Christmas party and White Elephant gift exchange, as well as “Wern Fest,” a discussion between West and Fern residents.
Both DuMez and Currier highly value the variety of activities that engage the students in different ways.
Despite the smaller surface areas of West and Hospers, there is much more to them than meets the eye. As DuMez said, “Hospers is a place where you can be who you want to be in a community that loves you regardless.”
And as Currier said, “West cannot be defined in one sentence because that is like trying to canoe on dry land with only one paddle, which makes no sense.”
