For freshmen girls on campus, Stegenga Hall is the place to be after West was torn down and Hospers transitioned to a men’s dorm.
“We always have about 80 freshmen in Steggy and 80 in Fern,” resident director Hannah McBride said. “We usually split evenly. We keep our ratio similar of guys and girls in the apartments. This year we didn’t have that option, so we basically had to encourage everyone who would be open to moving out of Steggy and Fern into the apartments.”
There are 126 freshmen in Steggy this year.
“I was a little overwhelmed when I found out there was going to be so many freshmen in Steggy,” McBride said. “That’s 126 people that don’t know this place. But after they all got here I was super pumped. I was really excited to get to know all of them.”
Wings dynamically change when new people come onto the wing. Having more freshmen on the wings might have changed some typical Northwestern stereotypes people associated with Steggy.
“It’s honestly more outgoing, because the freshmen are like ‘I want to do everything! I want to be friends with everybody!’” Callie Nordahl first south Steggy RA, said. “Steggy has the reputation of having closed doors and not being very social, and this has been a good year of rewrite those rules because so many new faces are in Steggy.”
Freshmen outnumber upperclassmen on every wing in Steggy this year. Upperclassmen see this reality as an opportunity to meet people and form new relationships.
“It’s important that the upperclassmen take on that mentor role,” Laura Hurley said. “Obviously the transition to college is hard for some in a lot of different areas. But a lot of the support that you get, especially in the beginning of the year, is from the people that you live with. Being that consistent support is crucial for the freshmen and making them feel comfortable coming to you since there are a lot more freshmen compared to upperclassmen.”
The opportunity to meet new girls at NW isn’t reserved for only upperclassmen in Steggy.
Several gentlemen have taken the liberty to wander the halls introducing themselves while passing out their Twitter handles and phone numbers.
“I have only seen them once,” Marie Jeppesen said. “They came to my room and were passing out the sugar cookies that are store bought that have a bunch of frosting on them. They asked us if we wanted cookies and all of us said ‘yes.’ They talked to us for a couple minutes and then they left.”
Overall, Steggy boasts a lively atmosphere where freshmen and upperclassmen interact on a daily basis. Although there are challenges with having 126 freshmen in Steggy Hall, is a place that many call home.
