Dinner@Dorms dead
Confusion about the logistics of the “Dinner at the Dorms” orientation event was resolved this week as Residence Exploration (REX) organizers announced that for the second straight year the event would not be held.
Dinner at the Dorms was the innovation of a REX committee eager to encourage freshmen to explore and meet the residents of dorms outside of the ones they were temped in. The activity offered them the chance to eat dinner in one of the dorms they had ranked in their top three during the housing selection process, especially one they had not been assigned to during REX.
According to Diandra D. Drago ’11, the REX contact for Dinner at the Dorms, the success of REX was judged by the number of freshmen who switched dorms at the end.
By 2007, Dinner at the Dorms had strayed from its original intent of encouraging exploration and become an event where freshmen primarily consorted with residents of their temporary dorms.
Financial concerns contributed to the cancellation of the event last year; the price tag would have been about $10,000 higher than the previous year. This year, similar financial concerns, difficulty in arranging sufficient early returns, and a departure from the original intent of the event contributed to its cancellation.
Cost would have necessitated the centralization of the event in Johnson or the Stratton Student Center. Had it been centralized, Dinner at the Dorms would not, in fact, have been held in the dorms.
It remains unclear what activity will take its place, if any.
—Yuliya Preger