YearOne freshman headed for Bashford, Thomson

Upperclassmen will have to switch residence halls to make room for the 2009-2010 YearOne freshmen community, which will fill up Thomson and Bashford Halls.Assistant Director of Residential Life Julie Blaszak said YearOne is a program that takes a large number of freshmen students and houses them together with a higher ratio of Residential Aides (RAs) in order to create a supportive living and learning community.

Blaszak said moving YearOne from Smith East to Thomson and Bashford next year will help the program achieve its goals by doubling its accommodation from about 120 to 240 students.

She said the community bathrooms in Thomson and Bashford will generate opportunities for students to leave their rooms and interact with residents on each floor.

"Some of the best conversations happen when you go to brush your teeth," Blaszak said.

She said she does not think many current students will object to the change.

"In past selections, we haven't had a lot of people choose Thomson or Bashford, so I don't think it will be much of a problem," she said.

However, freshman Marissa Ballard, who lives in Bashford, said she does not like being told she cannot live in Bashford next year, in part because all other residence halls, except Stuyvesant Hall, place four students in each room instead of two.

"Now, we have to find two new people to live with," Ballard said.

"And why do the freshmen get to walk to Thomson [Corner Store] in five seconds?"

Ballard added she does not think the community bathrooms in Bashford will help the freshmen bond more than they would in Smith East. She said she hardly ever meets people in the Bashford bathrooms because there are only two stalls.

"I do have friends in the hall, but I definitely didn't meet them in the bathroom," she said.

Freshman Deanna Breaux also lives in Thomson, and she said she believes moving YearOne from Smith East will isolate the freshmen from experienced students.

"They're not going to meet upperclassmen in their hall," she said.

Another Thomson resident, sophomore Jessica Felicijan, said she participated in the 2007-2008 YearOne program. She said she likes Thomson and is disappointed she cannot live there next year.

However, she said she thinks moving the program might positively impact freshmen because Thomson has a friendlier community atmosphere than Smith.

"People will visit you more in Thomson if you leave your door open," she said.

"It's smaller, and there's no elevator, so you cross people on the stairs. And by sharing the bathroom, you definitely meet a lot more people."

Freshman Rebecca Madison currently participates in YearOne and lives in Smith East.

She said she has enjoyed the program because it surrounds her with students who are facing similar challenges and dealing with similar issues, allowing them to interact and work together on a frequent basis.

Madison also said she thinks moving the program to Thomson and Bashford might create more community interaction because of the way the rooms are set up.

"When the door is open, you can see directly into rooms," Madison said. "Because of this, you would know who is in their room, and you'd be more likely to go in and talk to the person. In Smith, you just see a hallway."

Vice President for Student Affairs Craig Ullom expressed similar views to Blaszak on increasing space for YearOne.

"This will be an excellent opportunity to expand the number of spaces for YearOne participants in response to the high demand for this experience," he said.

Ullom said the university plans to expand community floor space by changing two second and third floor student rooms in Bashford or Thomson.

After judging the impact this has on YearOne, the university will decide if the same will happen to other residence halls.

Blaszak said in addition to meeting RAs, YearOne students will receive support from upperclassmen the university will allow to live in Bashford and Thomson singles.

Blaszak said she will work with Ullom, Director of Residential Life Wendy Piper and others to brainstorm for more YearOne changes to increase support for new students, and the residence hall change is a process.