ANNA KING
Staff Writer
About 150 students saw the surroundings of their freshman year collide with their second year at Pepperdine as they started school and moved into the new on-campus residential program for sophomores.
Last year’s freshman class was given the opportunity to participate in a new program known as The Residential Intentional Sophomore Experience (RISE). Former freshman halls on Greek row became spiffed up sophomore halls.
Rise was introduced to campus to address what national studies have shown to be the least satisfied class with their college experience.
Aimed at keeping sophomores active and involved in school, the program provides multiple benefits for not only those living in the dorms, but for all sophomores living on- campus, according to residential director for RISE, Michele Pinkham.
“Especially here at Pepperdine, where about 30 percent of the sophomore class goes overseas,” Pinkham said, “the RISE offers those who chose to stay local a life-changing year of their own.”
By offering special programs and opportunities for sophomores and by providing them with an extended support group, coordinators hope to keep more sophomores from dropping out of school during the year between the unfamiliarity of freshman year and the concentrated major courses of junior and senior years.
Sophomore Stephanie Si is glad to be living in the halls.
“You get to meet more sophomores and freshmen than you would if you were living in the apartments,” Si said. “Plus, the lobbies are nicer.”
Those actually living in the three halls Dewey, Morgan, and Sigma, were wooed with a myriad of bigger and better benefits, including better lobbies. To complement their earned level of seniority, designated RISE halls will have 24-hour lobbies, once proper locks are secured, rather than the 2 a.m. curfew maintained in freshman hall lobbies. To give full advantage to RISE students of their around-the-clock hangout, lobbies are also planned to be equipped with more comfortable furniture and a big screen television.
Program coordinators have also organized several events to enhance the sophomore year and build a support group similar to freshman halls.
The “All Sophomore Pig Out” on Aug. 29 started off the year. The event was attended by more than 100 hungry sophomores, many of whom do not live in the halls.
The next planned event is “The Launch Experience” on Oct. 1, featuring the Gallup Strengths Finder, a program designed to help participating sophomores discover their strengths to aid them in pursuit of their calling. All events are open to all residential Pepperdine sophomores.
Seniors Randy Ortega and Chris Cagnolatti chose to live in this new hall setup.
“We lived in the Oakwood Apartments last year and didn’t like having to cook for ourselves,” Ortega said.
Canolatti added that they are still not sure what to expect yet.
“We did it for the additional perks, but we still don’t know what to expect because many of the benefits haven’t been made available yet,” Cagnolatti said.
Sophomore Jessica Gonzalez requested to live in Lovernich with her friends but was placed in the sophomore halls.
“I was a little disappointed when my suitemates were not my friends, but now that I’m here, I really like the girls I’m with, and I think it will work out pretty well,” Gonzalez said.
Brogden sings a similar tune.
“The halls were our last choice, but we got placed in our suite with the same people we requested for our apartment in Towers,” sophomore Nathan Brogden said. “So it all worked out.”
09-08-2005