By Aya Burton ’22
Staff Writer
Starting this year, vibrancy hours will be instated in Scripps’ residential halls in an effort to create more lively and communicative living communities. During these hours, students will be encouraged to emerge from their rooms and join their floor and hall mates in hallways and common areas. By offering a time and space for students to connect with the people they live with, hall vibrancy hours aim to foster inclusive atmospheres that results in greater connections among residents.
The activities taking place during vibrancy hours will vary from hall to hall, as community coordinators (CCs) will design them to match the needs and requests of their respective residents. Although vibrancy hours intend to boost dormitories’ sense of community and strengthen relationships among students, they are not meant to impede on established quiet hours, which begin at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
It seems as though these newly designated vibrancy hours are more important than ever at Scripps, where students may enjoy the comforts of air-conditioning and personal sinks but, on the whole, feel that dorm community is lacking. “Dorm culture has no culture,” said one Scripps first-year. “I don’t even know some of the people in my hall” since “doors are closed most of the time” – a common observation and even expectation in Scripps’ residential halls.
Although RAs and CCs do organize events for students in their respective halls, some students have voiced complaints about the lack of bonding opportunities and limited advertising surrounding such events. In the first couple weeks of classes, Clark held a game night in the rec room and New Hall offered cookie decorating in the student lounge. “I didn’t know about them until I accidentally showed up, though,” one Scripps student admitted. “Kimberly has no events, ever,” another said.
If they fulfill their intended purpose, vibrancy hours should offer the much-needed opportunities to meet and connect with fellow residents. Although it may, as of now, be “hard for hall mates to bond because there’s no common space in the halls” as one Scripps first-year acknowledged, vibrancy hours aim to create those spaces by encouraging students to gather in hallways and lounges during designated hours. Perhaps this year, then, and in the years following, Scripps’ residential halls will feel a bit brighter and more alive. Scripps will always offer places for rest and tranquility, but a little vibrancy and noise in its living spaces every now and then wouldn’t hurt, either.
