By Jessie Kuenzel
Staff Writer
Wheelock College, the Colleges of the Fenway school that has long inhabited the block across from Simmons College Residence Campus, has more recently become home to approximately 80 Simmons students.
This fall, Wheelock’s Peabody Hall is being coinhabited by both Wheelock and Simmons students. Directly across Pilgrim Road—the road that runs between the colleges’ two campuses—from North Hall, Peabody Hall is sharing two of its five floors with Simmons students this year.
The dorm is managed and maintained entirely by Wheelock staff. A security desk at entrance of the dorm requires guests of all residents, Wheelock or Simmons, to register upon entrance.
The additional housing be- came necessary due to the uncommonly large size of the Simmons Class of 2019.
“The Simmons floors, on the 4th and 5th floor of Peabody will be a mix of first years and sophomores,” says the Simmons website on the Residence Life “Frequently Asked Questions” page. “Simmons
residents will have the opportunity to make friends with their peers in the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) by meeting female [sic] residents at Wheelock College who will also share the 4th floor with us.”
Reactions have been mixed amongst students, with some expressing frustration about the quality of the rooms compared to their Simmons counterparts.
Savannah Young, who was an RA in Simmons Hall last year — and was expecting to be again this year — met the switch to Peabody with excitement. “I was excited to be at another COF school, and explore the opportunities that come with it,” she said.
“In some ways I feel lucky,” said Young, who is one of three Simmons RAs in Peabody Hall. “We get to be on another campus and use their resources more accessibly. We’re also getting the chance to develop our own more intimate community.”
Several additional last-minute changes were made in housing this year at Simmons as a result of the large incoming class size which seems to beg the question: How will Simmons College cope if incoming class sizes continue to increase?
