Living on campus during a pandemic isn’t always easy. Trust me, I know — during the fall semester, I moved with three friends with very different personalities into a New Apartment, and it was a learning curve, to say the least.
So, when I received an email from Dorian Rhea Debussy, one of the directors of ODEI, telling me that I was being offered a double room in the Crozier Center for Women, I was ecstatic. Kenyon has a few different options for program housing, but Crozier’s mission is to make Kenyon a more inclusive place for people of all genders, and includes campus-wide resources for safe sex and personal health, among other programming throughout the year that the Center provides. Part of the reason I applied was because of the beautiful and comforting space that is Crozier itself — but more on that later.
It only took a couple of moments of consideration, plus a phone call to my friend-turned-house-manager-turned-honorary-cousin Ceci, to convince me to take the spot. And for the question of my roommate, I turned to my friend and sorority sibling, Victoria, who was super cool and someone I knew I vibed with from the moment I met her. Let me tell you why Crozier — while a niche housing option, I admit — is so worth applying to and, in my humble opinion, the best place to live on campus.
- Location, location, location.
There’s easy access to everything: we’re practically next door to Wiggin Street Coffee (great for when I need my biweekly caffeine fix) and literally right up the street from Peirce. Food is very important to me. In these snowy Gambier times, I’m especially grateful for that.
- I have a roommate! But you can live alone if you want to!
Crozier houses four of us — there’s two singles and one double, which Victoria and I have claimed as our own. Check out some pictures below of how I spiced up my half of the room. As a homebody and an extrovert with social anxiety (a fun combination, I know) it’s important for me to have someone around constantly to talk to and hang out with. COVID-induced living in a single last semester, even in an apartment with other people, left me feeling lonely a lot of the time.
I jumped at the chance to share a space with someone again, and it didn’t hurt that the space happens to be large, with three big windows and lavender-colored walls. I could wax rhapsodic for ages about how much I love my roommate (there are few people who can make quarantine enjoyable), an amazing STEM major who lets me play my music as loud as I want and doesn’t mind when I burst into song or dramatic groans at random intervals, but if having your own space is more your style, Crozier also has two comfy singles!
- Rooms. So many cozy rooms. And the ~aesthetic~.
The first night I moved into Crozier, I took Victoria, who had never been here before, on a FaceTime tour of the house, which I have to say, is beautiful. We have a fully-furnished kitchen with a little table (a luxury on any college campus), an enormous bathroom with a shower and a tub(!!), a comfy living room with a TV and lots of couches, and best of all, a cute little study nook that’s open to anyone and everyone.
Did I mention the whole place is peppered with empowering memorabilia? There are books, posters, magazines, and all kinds of art dedicated to femme-identifying heroes, and our house serves as a center for anyone who wants to come to pick up pads, condoms, lube, pins with pronouns on them, stickers, etc. — if it makes safe sex or personal health easier, Crozier’s probably got it, free of charge. Also, during non-COVID times, we have a music room that a cappella groups practice in, which I imagine sounds lovely, and the downstairs with the aforementioned comfy couches can be reserved for club meetings!
So, if you find yourself walking through the center of campus, there’s a good chance you’ll pass by Crozier — who knows, you might find me on the porch hanging out with mascot kitty Bam Bam! Stop by and say hello.
Valeria Garcia-Pozo ’23 is an English and Spanish major with a concentration in Latino/a studies from Athens, Georgia.
