Feminist hall design competition

A fellow WS100 instructor decided to do a modified version of the design competition exercise with her students. The instructions were to design a feminist dorm hall, paying attention to programming, the allocation of space, and potential spatial inhabitants. Here is what the students came up with:

Truth Hall (named after Sojourner Truth)
Goal: to develop residents’ understanding of equality, promote emotional, physical, intellectual, social growth that will turn them into exceptional feminists and citizens of their community
Space: somewhat traditional residence hall, accessible bathrooms and elevator; common space in the middle of the hall which includes kitchen, laundry room, study space, and, at the center, circular couches to promote discussion (thus furthering mission statement)
Selection of students: application included three interesting essay questions
Leadership: elected (to allow for development of leadership skills); conflicts handled by leadership, residents encouraged to submit questions on Learnlink conference
Rules: no gender or racial slurs, no gender-specific facilities, must use inclusive language
Events: volunteer requirements, group discussions, movie nights, hall would also plan a Feminism Awareness Night for the Emory community

Defying DefiNation
Goal: to reject essential identity categories
Space: space has no definite boundaries, lots of moveable partitions (based on the idea that defined spaces – i.e. kitchen, bedroom, etc. – have historically restricted women); also have common area for cooking, garage with communal vehicles
Leadership: leadership is shared equally, decisions made through discussion (vote if necessary)
Events: bi-weekly discussion dinners organized by 3 teams (cooking, cleaning, discussion); also require volunteer work; will participate in an existing Emory wide event


A Prescription for Society
Goal: to promote unity and community across genders. Its residents seek not only to explore their own personal views but the Emory community as a whole.
Space: Used existing Emory floor plan; designed “bitter pills” (facts about gender inequality) to decorate floor
Selection of students: students must complete one Women’s Studies class to live on the floor
Leadership/Conflicts: will have two RAs (one male, one female) to resolve disputes
Maintenance of common areas: designed a “chore wheel” to assign chores fairly
Events: will have monthly events based on theme for each month
Rules: residents must participate actively in the community, complete chores, and use respectful language

Results: The students who did not participate voted for the best proposal. Truth Hall received 2 votes, Defying DefiNation received 1 vote, and A Prescription for Society received 2 votes. Each proposal had strong elements and all groups had put a lot of work into their proposals. The instructor choose Defying DefiNation as the winner – they had clearly thought about the relationship between the goal of the floor (break down essentialist identity categories) and the space of the floor (no definite boundaries, moveable partitions). They had also thought carefully about other aspects of their proposal, including advertising, decision-making structure, events, and rules.