by The Cowl Editor on September 3, 2021
Campus
How do you meet people in college?
This appears to be the question on most students’ minds as they enter into their first year of college.
It is a universal concern, though no one is willing to talk about it aloud.
Of course, things take time, so you are bound to meet people during your time here, but there are certainly ways that you can accelerate the process.
Keeping your door open is the best way to do that.
There is no written rule that students need to keep their doors open here on campus, but it has become an unwritten rule that leaving your door open promotes a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.
Living in a traditional dorm may not look like it has perks upon first glance, but it provides a great environment for first year students who are looking to make the most of their four years here at Providence College.
No matter which freshman dorm you end up in, every student has the opportunity to reap the benefits of a close-knit community sharing a common space.
Resident Assistants on each floor –older students who have once been in the shoes of the freshmen they now look after – should make sure that they are cultivating an environment that lends itself well to this policy, where students are excited to meet and get to know those they will be living near for the next year.
Keeping your door open is a simple and effective way to send a signal to your floormates that you would like to get to know them better.
It provides a view of the hallway and presents the opportunity to say hi to people as they walk by back to their own room.
Abigail Pruchnicki ’22 is very grateful for the open-door norm on her floor freshman year. When asked why she thought it was so effective, Pruchnicki said, “the policy allows for small everyday interactions that eventually grow into longer conversations.”A simple “hello” can be a great first impression and the catalyst of conversations in the future.
No matter where you end up living sophomore, junior, and senior year, all freshmen are going to have the same traditional dorm living experience their first year here.
That means there are two full semesters to take advantage of the community environment that the dorms provide.
Because of the tradition that the open-door policy has become, it is freshmen’s first introduction to the Friar Family and the ways in which we are all here for each other.
Especially after everything that the world has gone through in the past year and a half, people are looking for a way to reconnect with each other.
Although students will be wearing their masks inside buildings, being able to establish a connection with the people that they are seeing everyday is certainly a good way to combat any loneliness that the pandemic tries to force upon us.
Sophomores who are living in Aquinas Hall should also take advantage of the community within their dorm building.
After having a normal first-year experience hindered by the coronavirus, these students have another opportunity to meet more people from their grade.
With students returning to all in-person classes, there is going to be more movement in the hallways and it is important to capitalize on this experience since it was lost last year.
The general anxieties of all incoming freshmen coupled with the lost interactions due to the pandemic present the need for the open-door policy more prominently now than in any other year.
We are all eager to reunite with old friends and meet new ones, so reminding ourselves of the traditions of Friar Friendliness is the best way to do that.
Though they do not boast the amenities that a suite or apartment might have, the traditional dorms on PC’s campus offer something just as important: a community that all new students will be grateful for.