Themed Housing Moves In With New Fall Programs

Ever wonder what it’s like to live in a themed house? With weekly meetings for members and monthly programs for the entire campus, these organizations keep themselves busy planning events and promoting their causes. Here’s a look at what they have been up to and where they are going this year.

Coffeehouse (Creative Writing)

New to campus this year is the Coffeehouse. Although it isn’t officially listed as a registered organization on OrgSync yet, Janet Wlody ’13 and other members hope to provide a welcoming environment where people can express their ideas and practice their writing skills.

“Our house will be helpful to students preparing portfolios for admission to writing classes,” Wlody said.

The organization has yet to host any events this year, but it plans to develop a bigger presence on campus in the coming weeks.

“We are in the process of planning our first writing workshop under the guidance of Kenyon Review staff and faculty advisors,” Wlody said.

Kenyon Food Co-op

Striving to break the monotony of Peirce, members of the Kenyon Food Co-op prepare occasional home-cooked meals for students.

“We want people to realize it can be really fun and not too much work to create a delicious home-cooked meal,” said Elizabeth Halper ’15, president of the Food Co-op. “Especially when you do it in a group of people who really enjoy it.”

“Meet n’ Greens” has been the only event hosted by the Food Co-op this year. Due to the event’s success, the organization looks forward to upcoming events.

“We hope to have our first Saturday dinner for club members in the next few weeks,” Halper said. “Also, for our all-campus event in October, we are either making fall pies or homemade Halloween candy.”

BE: Victorious

BE: Victorious aims to connect the Kenyon community. While the group was founded to create a community for Christian athletes, non-Christians as well as non-athletes are welcome to attend meetings and get involved.

“Religion is mostly a visible factor in our weekly meetings,” Lianne Castile ’13 said. “We meet Wednesday evenings and will have a discussion group for about an hour. In the past the topics have pulled in passages from the Bible to guide the discussions.”

Other than weekly meetings, BE: Victorious has hosted one event this year, an open house that got the year off to a good start.

“We had freshly baked cookies, fruit and other snacks, and people brought over games, and we essentially had a game night while getting to know each other,” Castile said.

To get involved with BE: Victorious, you can attend events and weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 10:10 p.m. in the Bemis music room on the second floor of Peirce.

“Most of our events will be focused on service or community, so if you want to help out or have some fun with new people, come on out,” Castile said.

International House

The International House has long provided Kenyon with programs that highlight the diversity of students, and this year will be no exception. After almost 90 people showed up to their first event, a pancake breakfast, the organization is ready to kick things into high gear.

“A big event coming up is our Nigeria/China/Botswana Independence Day Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7:00 p.m.,” Alex Britt ’15 said. “We’re also hoping to collaborate with ECO/PEAS on an Oktoberfest celebration.”

Along with events planned for the entire campus, members of the International Students at Kenyon (ISAK) get special perks.

“We’ve … started doing movie nights for our members, which are really fun,” Britt said.

The goal of the International House is to create an environment in which everyone can share his or her culture. Britt said that anyone is welcome to attend events and become involved.

“If people would like to be involved in ISAK and the International House, they should definitely come to the weekly ISAK meetings. We grab brunch together every Sunday at 12:00 p.m. and just chat about everything going on and coming up on campus,” Britt said.

ECO/PEAS

If you’ve ever wandered through the North Campus Apartments, you’ve probably seen a flag with a picture of the Planet Earth hanging from Apt. 220. That’s the ECO/PEAS house. While the Environmental Campus Organization (ECO) and People Endorsing Agrarian Sustainability (PEAS) are separate groups, they share a similar dedication to the environment and sustainability.

“[Sustainability is important] because without the planet, all other human problems become irrelevant,” Tim Jurney ’15 said. “Protecting the beautiful and critical nature around us is one of the most important things we can do.”

To spread awareness about their message, members of the ECO/PEAS house have already hosted an open house, at which they served muffins. The event was a success, according to Jurney, and members are working on more programs for the near future.

“Oktoberfest is going to be so cool,” Jurney said, “and the Beer and Bacon party with the Peeps is always a classic.”

Along with planning events, members of the ECO/PEAS house are trying to get a sustainability grant to build a hoop house (a type of greenhouse) and a winter garden.

Anyone interested in either organization is encouraged to get involved. ECO meets on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. in the Horn Gallery and PEAS meets on Mondays at 6:00 p.m. in Peirce Pub.

“Come to the meetings. We love new people,” Jurney said.

The Bike Co-op, Buddhist House, Community Service House, KacHead House and Outdoors Club could not be reached for comment before the print deadline.