The first ever Battle of the Halls was hosted for freshman students living in Greene, Marsh and Richardson residence halls. This event was held over a five-day period and consisted of daily events and competitions.
Each day, first-year students worked together with their halls with hopes of winning the inaugural Battle of the Halls trophy, along with many other treats and incentives along the way.
This event was hosted by the Residence Life Staff, in hopes of creating a sense of comradery between the first years’ own floors and other halls.
To gain a better understanding of what this event looked like each day, descriptions have been provided.
Monday, Sept 9, was Hall Pride Day. Each hall was encouraged to dress in similar attire while they created art for their dorms. This art consisted of various crafts such as bracelets making, chalk designs and most importantly, team-flag painting.
The team flag would be used throughout the week to represent each floor. Greene won the vote for the best flag, voted on by the upperclassmen students.This allowed the opportunity for the entire student body to participate in this event by giving voice to the upperclassmen.
On Tuesday, Marsh took the win in a fierce trivia battle to collect points for their building.
Resident Assistants and Residence Life Coordinators would periodically have “snack attacks” during the week of competitions where they would supply snacks to all of the halls while playing music.
Wednesday, a fan favorite, consisted of a campus-wide Scavenger Hunt. This event not only sparked friendly competition and fun, but also allowed the first years to learn more about the campus and the resources available for them.
Greene won this event, as well as the highest participation for Thursday’s PJs and Board Games event where residents dressed in their comfiest attire to destress with various board games.
The final event was hosted on Friday and consisted of outside field day activities. Capture the flag, pickleball and water balloon toss were just a few of the games first-years took part in.
The event wrapped up on Friday with the recognition of winners and individuals who played vital roles in securing victories throughout the week.
Aside from the competition, this event promoted a closer-knit community for class of ‘28 and their next four years on campus together.
Ava Grier ’28 helped lead her floor in Greene to many victories throughout the week. She participated in the Hall Pride Day, Scavenger Hunt and snack attack.
“Doing this with a team from Greene, I got to know more girls in my hall and that was really fun.” Grier said.
Grier’s hall won the Scavenger hunt, which earned her and her team free food from Moe’s Southwest Grill.
The Resident Assistants played a vital role in getting the first-years involved. Grier explained that her Resident Assistant was extremely encouraging throughout the event. She took the Moe’s orders of each of her residents and ate with them in the Greene common area.
Sydney Heslop ’28 shared similar opinions as Grier. She, too, greatly appreciated the support from her Resident Assistant.
“Our RA made us bandanas with our names on them which was really fun. She is so sweet and very involved,” Heslop said.
Heslop lives on the third floor of Marsh, and her team won second place in the Scavenger Hunt, with a prize of hot and ready Krispy Crème donuts for the team.
The goals of this event will last longer than these five days. Throughout the semester, the relationships made will build upon each other. With new friendships formed and old ones strengthened, this event served to be successful according to first-years and staff.
The Residence Life Staff plans to make this event a new tradition for first years. The Battle of the Halls trophy is housed in Greene but plans to move each year to the champions’ hall.
Over half of the freshmen class were involved throughout the event. The Residence Life Staff hopes to increase this number as it becomes integrated into the first-year experience in the coming years.
The first-years were encouraged at the end of the event to write letters to their senior selves. This allowed students to reflect on who they are today, and who they want to become in these next four years.
Wofford College seeks to inspire leaders, and this exciting event is just the start.
