Washburn House

Move-in 2017 has begun! While Neilson Library is under construction for the next few years, residents of Washburn were relocated to Parsons House. Our two Heads of New Students, Marty and Claire '20, poked fun at the transition from Washburn to Parsons through their Waldo-inspired Convocation theme: "Where's Washburn?" Welcome to Smith, Class of 2021!

The banner is up and move-in is well under way! The HONS (Erin and Cas) and the rest of house council is super excited for our new students to settle in. Picture taken by one of our Student Academic Advisors, Emily.

Can't wait for everyone to be welcomed to their new home!

Making Connections: Five Things to Look for at Orientation 2016 Making Connections: Five Things to Look for at Orientation 2016 Small group meetings for students with shared interests are part of Smith's weeklong Orientation program. Published August 24, 2016 The Smith journey begins before students enter their first classroom. Orientation—which this year will b...

Welcome to all our new Washburnites from the Class of 2020 who just received their housing assignments! We're so excited to meet you and have a great year together.

Hope all you Washburnites are having a lovely J-term.

Hi everyone,
Hannah sent out a email to the HP's about some of the changes the administration is thinking about making to convocation. They want our opinion, so let me know what you think and I'll send it along to Hannah. They want to know ASAP I think Hannah said by Friday, if possible. Sorry this is such short notice. Anyway here is what she said: "Convocation
We are continuing to tweak the events around convocation. Last year the post-convocation event was well received by students and we want to continuing with a similar event this year. Before we make the change I will describe below, we want to make sure we have student support. I am asking you to share this idea with your returning housemates (by e-mail, facebook, or whatever method works best for your community), get their feedback and then forward it on to me. If you can get this feedback to me by next Friday (June 13th) that would be most helpful. If it would be helpful to speak on the phone/skype about this I am available to do so. So here is the idea:

We are proposing shifting convocation to 5pm (in past years it has been at 7pm). Convocation would be from 5-6pm and then a large campus BBQ on Chapin Lawn with activities, a DJ, desserts, free t-shirts to name a few things. It would be very similar to the spring end of semester event that happened on the lawn this past May. Below are some of the positive opportunities and possible concerns of this change.

Some of the positives of this plan are:

students who do not want to attend convocation will attend the BBQ and enjoy the events
students will have an opportunity to continue the festive nature of convocation as a community
provide an opportunity for students to have fun while decreasing some of the negative behaviors
more faculty will attend

Possible concerns:

would this change be viewed as changing "Smith Traditions" in a negative way?
A meal would be provided after convocation rather than prior to the event. How would this impact alcohol consumption?"

I would appreciate any and all comments. Feel free to message me directly, email me, or leave a post here.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer.
Burning love,
Diana

My dear Burnin' Lovelies,

It is with great sadness and great joy that I end my four years at Smith. This House has been my home and has shown me that love can bring people together in ways I couldn't imagine. I have spent wonderful times in Washburn, and I know that this House and everyone in it will be with me forever. I promise to visit, and I can't wait to see what amazing things you get up to!

Your new President, Diana Sandmeyer, will be taking over the Washburn social media this summer. Give her a warm Burnin' welcome!

Cheers,
Lydia Lovett-Dietrich
Washburn House President 2013-2014

Washburnites participating in important campus discussions!

Snow Day!

Blanket fort! Best House tradition.