SLUSH week: fighting for future house mates

Ohio Wesleyan’s Small Living Units, or SLUs, held interviews this week for prospective residents who are dedicated to the cause and who add to the community of each house.
Each SLU has different academic requirements for prospective students to meet, but students are also selected based on their personal devotion to their house’s cause, as well as their individual personality.
A clean streak does not hurt their chances either, says senior and member of the Modern Foreign Language House, Tori Schlaudt.
“We consider this a community, and it is privilege to live here, so we would like our house mates to be courteous, clean, fun and friendly,” she said.
Junior and resident of the Women’s House, Colleen Waickman, said individual personality is a very important part of her selection of new members as well.
“I look for all kinds of personality traits. I like to live in a diverse house in terms of personalities,” Waickman said.
“ Overall, I like to live with considerate, kind, optimistic and respectful housemates who are excited about life and our mission.”
Students participating in “slushing,” like freshman Kerrigan Boyd, also take personality into consideration when choosing a house.
Boyd plans to live in the Citizens of the World  or COW House, as it is more commonly called, next semester.
“I slushed COW House decided that I really wanted to live with people who were interested in creating a global community,” Boyd said. “Plus, I just thought it’d be really cool.”
Boyd’s interest in learning about world cultures began her senior year of high school when she studied abroad in Mexico.
“Last year was my first time in the international community and is kind of why I wanted to live in COW House,” she said.
“That experience of living with so many international students made my perspectives on life so much wider.”
Because students in SLU’s are brought together by a common interest, Schlaudt says the experience of living in a SLU provides students “with similar interests have a haven and a place to call home.”
“It’s important to consider living in a SLU because the community is a place where a person can feel comfortable to pursue their interests and be wholeheartedly supported,” Schlaudt said.
“The community can help people find their voice on campus and in their home.”
The sense of community that each SLU provides its residents is unique, Waickman said.
“Living in a SLU is great because you get connected with lots of activism and campus events that are going on through your housemates,” Waickman explained.
“But you also learn how to cooperate with other people every day, take care of your friends on a whole new level, and grow as a person and as a part of something bigger than yourself.”