Longwood’s sorority alumni and active members visited Stubbs Hall this past Saturday to revisit the building after it had undergone a year of renovations.
Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Andrea Martinez, said that the Stubbs Open House “is really an opportunity for the alumni to see the new building.” She went on to say, “We do expect to get some complaints from alumni about some of the things that are gone; we’re not blinded to that.”
Longwood University decided to make numerous changes to the building in the previous year; this altered the look and quality of Stubbs Hall. “The building didn’t used to have air conditioning and now it does, with that came replacing all the windows in the building,” Martinez explained.
Alpha Delta Pi member and Longwood Student, Nicole Stevens, stated, “Stubbs is a beautiful building and I love that I have had the opportunity to live in it.”
Stevens went on to explain some of the things about Stubbs that she wished would change, “I think that there needs to be a lot more washers and dryers than there are now. I also wish that the doors were quieter because they slam so loud.”
The more noticeable changes that alumni and active sorority members found, dealt with the look and feel of their sorority’s portion of the building. Each sorority’s section of their floor used to be very personalized and specific to things that made it their own, such as their colors or names being painted along the walls.
Some of the Greek women at Longwood have not been on board with Longwood’s attempt to neutralize the Stubbs building. Sigma Kappa member and Longwood student, Kennedy Williams, said, “I wish that Stubbs was the way it used to be; I wish each of the halls still had things like their colors.” Williams went on to share what she had heard from the Sigma Kappa Alumni as they visited, “The alumni seemed to love the air conditioning and seemed very happy with the chapter rooms themselves, but I don’t think they are happy that the halls are not painted.”
Martinez explained that the renovations changed that tradition by keeping all the walls a neutral color in order to “blur those lines” for the sororities as a whole.
In the brand new meeting room in Stubbs, Longwood made an effort to showcase the sororities.Martinez explained, “There is a mural that is a map of the United States where everyone’s alpha chapters and the rest of their chapters are pinpointed.”
The sororities were prepared to welcome the alumni at the Stubbs Open House and tried to make them feel at home while they were in an almost foreign building.
Williams stated, “I’m excited that the alumni are coming back to see it, but I’m afraid they won’t be very happy that it’s not the way it used to be.” She went on to say, “The organization of the open house has been awesome and has allowed everyone to see how great everyone’s chapter rooms and halls turned out.”
Stubbs has been around since 1966; therefore, many sorority women have lived in the building. Stevens stated, “I’m sure that the renovation of Stubbs has different effects on different people that are both happy and sad.” She went on to say, “I know that when our Alumni came to visit they had so much fun seeing the new building and being able to go into some of the rooms because of all the memories that it brought back.”
According to Martinez, Longwood expected roughly 400 people to come for the Stubbs Open House. This allowed them to gain feedback as to what the alumni liked and disliked about the building. Stevens stated, “Even though I think the alum felt as if some things had changed, I think they felt it was a good change.”
Williams suggested that Longwood should make some changes to Stubbs to preserve the Greek feel like “identify more who lives on each hall, even if they can’t paint the walls.” However, Longwood is not on the same page. Martinez explained, “We’re looking at a more standardized look for the building.”
Nevertheless, Longwood has been looking to add personal touches to the halls to please the sororities. Martinez stated, “At some point we will be putting these etched glass crests up on each of the sororities bulletin boards, so that everyone will have something that says that this is my chapter room, but still has the same uniformed look.”
The Stubbs Open House appeared to be much more than just looking at the renovations, but a chance to look back on the past. Williams said, “I think all the alumni enjoyed themselves and it was such an honor to get to talk to them and hear about their stories from being in the chapter.”
