Fowle-ing his lead

With the new school year, Christopher McSweeney stepped into his role as the Fowle Hall dorm dean. Despite it being his second year teaching at Mercersburg or any boarding school, McSweeney seems to have a strong understanding of dorm life in Fowle. His efforts to shift the culture have made the dorm a preferable and welcoming home for student residents.

Previously, juniors were eager to leave Fowle to live in the upperclass dormitories on front campus: South and Swank. However, Sophie Oh ’26, a current Fowle Hall upper-middler observed, “I really appreciate him making Fowle a better place and the way he engages with us. He talks with us and hangs out in the lobby even when he’s not on duty… I feel like he cares a lot about us, about the dorm. It’s a very nice atmosphere. He understands when we’re feeling down, tries to make the dorm a better place, and admits when he makes mistakes.” 

A significant change to Fowle is the overall atmosphere. McSweeney, dorm faculty, and prefects collaborated with residents to improve the aesthetics of the dorm, by updating common rooms with new decorations and added floral arrangements in the back entrance of the dorm. 

“I want Fowle to feel like a home,” says the dorm dean. A home is a place that you want to be decorated and lively, and Fowle has been working to exemplify that. The day students' lockers have moved from the wing common rooms to the common rooms of the second and third floors. This is part of the goal to make the lives of boarders more independent. Now both boarders and day students have their separate hangout spots, minimizing any conflicts between them. 

Fowle has added many new adult faces to the duty desk, such as Ben Demerath, Tia Afa, Chelsea Begg, and assistant dorm dean Electa Wilander, and they have contributed to this new look, as well.

“I think our biggest obstacle is size. It’s a big dorm and it's difficult for me to have very good relationships with everybody one-on-one. The only strategy to change that is to have more dorm events which I think we are doing, with our bonfires and just me trying to be more present in the dorm,” says the dorm dean. Creating a closer relationship with the residents is one of his biggest goals. 

With the rate of change taking place in Fowle, by the end of the school year, I could see many residents wanting to remain for their senior years. Given McSweeney’s Sunday dip and bread nights in the main common room and occasional ice cream and cereal nights, Fowle is on the rise to becoming the ideal dorm. Made up of 96 residents and 22 day students, the dorm is mighty and can be a loud house. While Fowle may still be far from perfect, the dorm has been shifting its culture: from looks and decor to personality and rules. Some would even argue that Fowle is the best dorm on campus.