University President Judith Rodin talked with students and watched TV in two college houses last night. After a full day at College Hall, University President Judith Rodin spent some time hanging around the dorm -- attending a discussion group at Kings Court/English College House and watching Dawson's Creek with students at Stouffer College House. As part of her ongoing plan to spend time with students from all 12 college houses, Rodin participated in an informal current affairs discussion group called "Headlines" at KC/EH from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The topic of the discussion focused on body image and eating disorders -- which are areas the president has researched and studied extensively throughout her academic career. College sophomore Kristen La Mont said that she was happy to talk to "such an authority on eating disorders." "I think that it's important that she meets with small groups of students," La Mont added. After the discussion, KC/EH House Dean Krimo Bokreta and several students gave Rodin a brief tour of the second floor of English House. "It's just so much fun to be able to come and see students where they live," said Rodin, adding that she enjoyed being able to "pop into people's rooms." Second on the agenda for the president was a trip to Stouffer, where she sat sucking on a lollipop, surrounded by students watching the popular teen television show Dawson's Creek in Faculty Master Philip Nichols' living room. Students said that the informal setting made them comfortable interacting with Rodin. "This is definitely an element where we really are ourselves," College sophomore Carrie Rieger said. Rodin admitted she was a "novice" at watching the show. But she noted that, "If this is what it's like to be in high school, I shudder to think what my 11th grader is doing." Stouffer House Dean Anne Mickle said the event was a valuable opportunity for students to spend time with the president. "For many students this will be the first, if not only, opportunity to see [the president] close up," she noted. After the show ended, the president chatted casually with students over coffee and dessert. The highlight of that discussion was Penn's stunning 50-49 loss to Princeton at yesterday's men's basketball game. Stouffer graduate associate and fourth-year Medical student Ramin Ipakchi said he thought the event was "a good idea, symbolic of people higher up spending time with people they usually don't have contact with." Last semester, Rodin made similar visits to Hill, Hamilton, Harrison, Harnwell, Gregory and DuBois college houses. Sue Smith, a spokesperson for the college house system, said the visits have been "tremendously interesting and fun." The president plans to visit all 12 of the college houses by the end of the semester, according to Jennifer Baldino, the director of external affairs for the president's office. The only residences she has left to tour are the four houses in the Quadrangle.
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