Earlier today, members of Music House sent a letter to Wesleying proposing that Music House remain in 200 High Street next school year, sharing the space with the newly-approved Movement House. The letter cites the building’s status as the largest residential concert venue on campus as indirectly creating a workload that is too great for one house manager to maintain, giving specific examples from experiences within Music House that happened last semester. As of now, Movement House will be the only program house occupying the space next year.
The letter says that the residents of Music House who are not satisfied with ResLife’s standing decision to move the program house into a shared space with Full House for next school year and are therefore endorsing the proposal for sharing 200 High with Movement House, are hoping to meet with Movement House residents this Friday. Read past the jump for the full-text of the letter:
To whom it may concern,
We are writing on behalf of members of the Wesleyan community and Music House who are invested in the futures of Music House and 200 High Street. After discussion drawing on experience living in Music House before and after the move to its current location, as well as experience hosting campus-wide events in the space of 200 High Street, we strongly believe that the safest, most productive way to manage this space involves the collaboration of two programs.
200 High Street is the largest venue on campus, and because of that, as well its history of successful events, it is the most desirable space for students attempting to book events. Because of the high volume of requests for shows and attendance at these shows, as well as the administrative burden of managing the large of number of residents, we believe that having a single house manager puts that person in a very difficult situation and negatively affects the success of the house.
For the duration of the fall semester, Hannah was shouldering the lion’s share of this burden, and it was not sustainable or fair. Since then, we have developed a more effective process that distributes the responsibilities related to hosting and booking events equally to every member of the house, and holds them accountable for doing their share. Additionally, the experienced nature of our residents allows us to assist students in using the space safely and productively. This experience is crucial to the continued success of 200 High Street as a space that contributes to the Wesleyan community.
We propose dual residency between Movement and Music Houses for the 2017-2018 academic year to collaboratively manage the space. Music House had more than 70 applications for the 2016-2017 academic year from students who demonstrated their passion for the house’s mission. A current Music House resident who has worked to help develop the new, successful process for managing the space would be able to receive the baton from Hannah as house manager and hit the ground running in the fall, instead of needing a semester to figure out how to make the house function.
We have proposed a meeting with the prospective Movement House residents for this Friday, and hope to productively discuss the future of the space.
The fate of 200 High Street is important to the larger Wesleyan community, especially those interested in performance. Continuity of program is a very important factor to the continued progress of this space towards a safe and enriching part of Wesleyan’s culture.
We understand that this is somewhat 11th hour, however it is essential that this is discussed prior to the opening of program house applications. The safe and culturally enriching operation of this space is of the highest importance to student life.
Please contact as at your earliest convenience to discuss this matter
Yours Truly,
Concerned Students
_________
For further reading:
- Eclectic Does Not Gain Program House Status for 2017-2018 School Year
- ResLife Calls for New Program House Proposals
- BREAKING: Music House Moving into Eclectic’s House Starting Fall 2016