Warren Wilson College Catalog 07-08

Go to the current College Catalog

Student Life

Athletics and Recreational Facilities

Intercollegiate Athletics: The College fields men's and women's varsity teams in soccer, basketball, cross-country, mountain biking, canoe and kayaking, and swimming. Warren Wilson College is a member of the United Small College Athletic Association.

Facilities: The DeVries Athletic Center includes a gymnasium, a weight-fitness room, a 25-yard indoor swimming pool, six tennis courts, 2 soccer fields, and an outdoor basketball court.

Bryson Gymnasium, the oldest wooden gym in Western Carolina, is the center for Wellness Program and houses a climbing wall.

Clubs/Intramural Teams

The College sponsors co-educational club teams in cycling, paddling, and indoor soccer. Intramural activities vary depending on student interest. Recent activities have included ultimate frisbee, flag football, water polo, lacrosse, and basketball. Credit and non-credit classes in martial arts, aerobics, yoga, meditation, and scuba diving are sometimes offered.

Counseling and Health Centers

The Counseling Center provides a full range of free, confidential, and personal counseling services for students, including short-term individual and group counseling, consultation, conflict resolution, and crisis intervention. For students presenting needs or preferences beyond the scope of the Counseling Center, referrals can be made to regional specialists.

The Health Center is staffed by a Physician Assistant who treats basic medical needs and makes referrals for more specialized care. The Health Center is open 40 hours per week.

Governance

The Student Caucus is the primary representative body for students and is part of Warren Wilson's shared governance system. The Caucus meets each week during the school year to discuss student concerns and provide information to students. The Caucus makes policy recommendations in areas affecting student life, including the general philosophy and direction of the College, social regulations, student discipline, student housing, student activities, intercollegiate athletics, the work program, the service program, and the academic calendar.

The College's standing committees include elected student members. Students are either appointed or elected to task forces and search committees. Judicial matters are handled by an elected group of students, staff, and faculty.

Outdoor Activities Program

The Outing Club, the largest club on campus, sponsors weekly trips for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, climbing, caving, and paddling. The club owns canoes, kayaks, bikes, and camping equipment for students to check out.

Residence Halls

Eighty five percent of Warren Wilson students live in one of the 17 campus residence halls. The residence halls are small, ranging from 17 to 125 students, and each includes a common living room, kitchen, laundry room, and limited storage facilities. Most rooms are double occupancy, and most dorms are coed; there is an all-male dorm, all-female dorms, a substance-free wellness dorm, and an eco-dorm. The residence halls are largely self-governing--each plans its own activities and allocates its own budget.

Resistance Intervention Safety Empowerment Project (RISE)

RISE provides support to the community in many ways:

  1. providing educational programming for students, staff, and faculty,
  2. training Advocates for a Safe Consensual Community (ASCC),
  3. providing advocacy and support services to survivors of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking,
  4. training RDs, RAs, Campus Safety and Work Crew Supervisors on how to provide appropriate responses to reports of sexual assault,
  5. leading a coalition with community partners including Our Voice, Helpmate, and Pisgah Legal Services,
  6. supporting student research on these issues,
  7. producing publications,
  8. organizing events and co-sponsoring events that bring attention to these issues,
  9. speaking in academic classes on relevant topics,
  10. providing in-services to work crews,
  11. conducting campus surveys, and,
  12. creating protocols and policy for response to violence in our community.

The Warren Wilson Community may become involved in this work by participating in any of the above activities.

Special Needs

The College strives to be in full compliance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students requesting accommodations under these acts must provide documentation of the existence of the disability that substantially limits a major life activity. Contact the Education Access Coordinator, Deborah Braden (771-3791) or dbraden@warren-wilson.edu for information that describes the required documentation, or visit the on-line site at www.warren-wilson.edu/accommodations.

The students should request assistance through the Education Access Coordinator. For academic needs the student can seek assistance from the academic advisor, course instructor, or the Director of Academic Support Services.

Spiritual Life

The Minister to Students, the College Chaplain, and the Religious Studies faculty support and promote programs that represent different religious and spiritual traditions. The College Chapel/Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church has worship services every Sunday morning and a Taize meditation service on the first Sunday evening of each month. Participation in the Chapel Choir is open to all members of the community. The Emmaus Group is a weekly ecumenical gathering for students from various Christian faith traditions. BE is a weekly Buddhist meditation and discussion group. The Student Jewish Association organizes regular Shabbat celebrations and observances of Jewish holy days. The Wellness Crew sponsors yoga and other programs related to spiritual practices. The Peace and Justice Studies Crew promotes spiritual growth through social justice events. The Spiritual Life Committee, composed of students, faculty, and staff, develops special gatherings to enhance religious/spiritual life on campus. The Col

Student Activities

Student Activities organizes major social events for the campus community. They book local, regional, and national bands; produce student music shows; run a recording studio for students; hold student art exhibits in Two Walls Gallery in the student-run coffee shop, Sage Cafe; and coordinate events sponsored by campus clubs such as Women's Studies Club, Students of Active Resistance, S.A.F.E. (Student Alliance for Equality), the campus association of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students and friends. Student Activities sponsors fun weekly events as well, which have included the Dolly Parton Look-alike and Karaoke Pageant, a Moonrise on the Farm Party, Hootenanny, the Human Circus, Deep Fried Freak Pride--a Halloween extravaganza, oatmeal wrestling, an all-day Warren Wilson-style track and field event, and various poetry slams and coffeehouses.

Student Media

A campus news bulletin, student newspaper, online publication, photo annual, and a literary arts magazine are written, edited, produced, and printed by student workers and student volunteers. In addition, many campus groups and work crews create and distribute their own newsletters and brochures.

Wellness

The Wellness Program offers a variety of programs that help to create, pursue, and practice a lifestyle of wellness. The Program currently holds noncredit courses such as Yoga, Tae Kwon Do, contra dance, massage, swing dance, fencing, kickboxing, weight lifting, Reiki, and Tai Chi. Smoking cessation programs and alcohol and other drug education and prevention efforts are also offered. All programs are initiated by student interest.

Many campus improvements have grown out of wellness initiatives, such as the creation of a meditation garden, meditation hut, an outdoor brick-fired pizza and bread oven, weight room additions, climbing wall additions, the greenhouse, and Sage Cafe.