Undergraduate at Bennington College, studying Symbolic Systems.
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House Chair Application

  1. What do you believe are the three most important responsibilities of a House Chair? How would you handle and address these responsibilities?

    1. Building community

      I always try to find out what people in my house are doing in their lives here on campus. I hope that if I were House Chair, I would be able to help support students by directing them to other students that are interested in similar groups by telling them about other activities or resources on campus that would assist them. I meet regularly with a diverse group of the faculty and staff, so I would hope I would be able to apply this knowledge with introducing the right student to the right faculty member at the right time, especially during times academic, social, or personal difficulty or inspirational moment. I also think that Franklin is a particularly difficult house to build community in, particularly because coffee hour attendance is so poor, and because it seems that there is not much interest or involvement from the house in events that go on. I would hope that perhaps by asking Franklin residents what they would want out of a coffee hour, and why they do not attend, I could help find ways of encouraging more people to attend.

    2. Providing information

      One of my biggest difficulties on campus initially was getting the right information, and knowing the right questions to ask. I am interested in knowing as much as I can about the school, its’ polices, and curricular proceedings. Because the coffee hour in Franklin is so unsuccessful, I feel it is a unique challenge for the house chair to find the best way to communicate the information that is critical for the Bennington community to the more reclusive members of the house, and help them to get more involved.

    3. Provide support for students with housing questions or concerns.

      I believe it is a House Chair’s duty to provide a safe place for discussions for the house resident’s concerns and questions, and I hope I would be able to facilitate that in every way possible. I would try to provide a non-confrontational and helpful presence in mediating discussions between house members for any questions or problems that anyone might be experiencing.

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