For decades since their establishment, dormitories Fern Smith (Fern) and Colenbrander (Coly) housed many young women and men, respectively, but that is going to change this upcoming fall semester. With Coly on the verge of being demolished, Fern is becoming a men’s dorm, changing the name to Smith. But where will the young women of Fern go? On the north side of campus, many displaced Fern residents are planning to live in Christy Suites.
Natalie Wheeler has been the Fern resident director for four years, and Brian Follett has been the resident director of Coly for three years. Due to these changes, Wheeler and Follett will continue being resident directors – Wheeler to Christy and Follett to Smith.
Any variety of moving can bring questions, even if the move is only a block away. As Follett is preparing for the move, questions keep popping up in his head. “Obviously, there is the physical sense of moving buildings. I am trying to figure out the logistics of housing the guys in a new building and thinking about what that is all going to look like,” Follett said. “Then there are other questions such as: Will moving to Fern change the demographic of Coly? How will it feel different? What things do we want to bring over? What things do we want to start? What should we change? We are trying our best now to think about those questions to prepare ourselves well.”
With a location change, the possibility of culture change arises as well. Follett wishes to maintain the Coly culture in Smith but wants to “tweak things as we go.” Coly is currently the largest male dorm on campus, and Smith will take on that role next semester. The dorm’s size helps increase the dorm’s diversity. Many men in Coly are involved in various athletics and other activities. “The culture we try to shoot for is one that is welcoming to all and gives space to be yourself but also to branch out and see what other guys have to offer,” Follett said. “I hope to continue that and grow that as we move to a new dorm.”
Follett’s favorite memories in Coly includes the spontaneous conversations. “The spontaneous moments are always fun when guys group together in the halls to have random fun conversations,” Follett said.
Follett also loves the planned events, such as Coly Hog Roast and Coly Christmas. The named events are not going to disappear, they are just going to be rebranded, with help from the Advanced Public Relations class.
While Fern and Coly residents are saying goodbye, there is also excitement from many students. The women in Christy will no longer share a communal bathroom and will instead share a jack-and-jill bathroom with at least three other residents. The men in Coly will no longer have communal showers – an aspect all of campus is excited for.According to current Coly resident Leo Costa, “it will be weird having men walking around in Fern. It is going to smell.”
Wheeler is looking forward to a bigger apartment, and, according to Wheeler, as is her small and energetic dog, Oakley.
However, the Folletts plus their dog Ozzy will not have to squeeze into the tiny apartment in the north stairwell of Fern. Throughout this year, construction on the first north wing will create a bigger RD apartment. Wheeler’s current apartment will be transformed into a larger room, which upper class students can apply for occupancy.
Even for those not moving dorms or living spaces, everyone will have to adjust. Calling “Fern” by the name “Smith” can be a tricky transition for a majority of campus who have always known the dorm attached to the cafeteria as Fern. Everyone will have to get used to the new Christy Suites building by North Suites.
