Last May's wellness house proposal currently is undergoing a series of revisions before it will be presented to the Committee on Residence Life and Housing.
According to the proposal, the wellness house is intended to provide an environment where students can "maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit."
The original proposal was drafted in May 2001 by University students Corbin Martin, Jenny Murrill, Marc Olsen and Leonard Woody III, all of whom are members of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team. The first draft established the proposed mission statement for the wellness house. The proposal listed Hereford Residential College as a tentative site.
According to Susan Bruce, ADAPT faculty adviser and CASE director, the students have been revising and adding to their proposal.
In addition to editing the proposal's format, the students are detailing the exact mission of the wellness house and discussing the specific types of programs the house would provide.
"At this point, we're trying to prove to the committee that the wellness house truly benefits students in ways that other residence houses do not," Martin said. "We have substance-free housing, but no other residence house at this time focuses on all aspects of health."
The location of the house also is under consideration. Students are considering other locations besides the one at Hereford Residential College.
"We're encouraging the students to consider in detail the type of environment they want," Bruce said. "This means determining not only location, but factors such as whether a suite or apartment setup is preferable, and how many people they expect to house."
According to Martin, the students expect to finish their proposal by fall semester of next year. If accepted, the University would establish a pilot program in that same semester. The wellness house would then be formally instituted in fall 2003.
Like other residential colleges, students would be selected to live in the house through an application process to determine which students genuinely desire a healthy living environment.
According to Office of Health Promotion Director Cynthia Burwell, wellness housing has worked on other college campuses. For example, health-focused housing has been provided at Duke and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In addition, UNC-Chapel Hill also has instituted a Living Well program, which provides a substance-free environment and programs focusing on subjects such as exercise and time-management.
According to the wellness proposal, a 2000 University Health Behavior survey indicated that nearly 12 percent of University students would prefer to live in an alcohol-free residence hall.
Former vice president of student affairs and current University Senior Vice President William Harmon said the wellness house would provide housing options to satisfy a demonstrated demand.
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