The Rose Cafe that I attended last Wednesday was quite different from the rest than i attended before. This cafe was more akin to an open discussion with Professor Hill about the history as well as the future of Flora Rose House and the west campus system in general. Professor Hills most pressing concern, one I share with him as well, is the lack of identity of the different west campus houses. Judging from the types and frequency of events held at Rose House, I personally think that Rose House is the more academic house focused on intellectual development while a house like Bethe focuses more on developing its social aspect through fun events like smoothie making and frequent trips to see broadway show in New York City. This is only a personal opinion and whether or not this identity should be further pursued is up to the house professors and staff at Rose House.

As a method of promoting house spirit, I believe that competition is necessary in order to give residents a reason to be proud to be part of a particular house. While intramural sports competition between houses was attempted before in the past, competition can perhaps be encouraged through less physical yet still enjoyable and enriching ways. Some suggestions include having a house food drive for donation to the needy to having board game competitions such as Chess and Go. Another way to encourage competition is by having students participate in community and service events throughout campus. Points can be awarded to the house based on how many residents contributed to each service event. A house cup can be awarded at the end of the year and additional benefits can be given to the winning house such as meal vouchers or free food. The west campus house system in Cornell is still very much a work in progress and I would like to see a much stronger sense of house identity be developed within the time that I reside on this part of campus.