Friendship House Application Process

The Friendship Houses were established to allow students to form a self-selected community based upon concepts and values of friendship and service. Friendship Houses provide students with the opportunity to establish an environement within the larger Earlham community, based on shared social, academic, or service-based interests. Unlike the Theme communities, Friendship Communities need not be connected with an academic department. Proposals that promote service, shared responsibility for house activities, and academic success are strongly preferred.

Reviews will include practical as well as theoretical content--groups should complete their proposal with the final roster sheet as the end page, to allow for a blind review. Roster sheets will be coded to the proposal, and matched once the proposals are selected. All proposals will be graded by rubric, and assessed based on the following:

1. Overall concept: creativity, vision for the community, and values. 

2. Committment to the College mission: value on academic success, care for the environment, diversity broadly imagined, plan for negotiating decisions and concerns that arise between house members. 

3. Committment to integrity and respect: communication with neighbors, outreach to other house communities, plan for how members will hold one another accountable to socially responsible conduct, managment of guest behavior, etc. 

4. Practical examples (such as planning calendar of programs, clarity of roles of the house members, etc), along with the size of your group (available houses will range from 6-12 people) are expected.

5. All groups are required to have a House Convener active each semester. This individual must attend House Converner training and regular meetings with the House Coordinator (Training dates TBD but you should expect to be available and on campus the second week of August and meet a minimum of once per month).

Friendship House proposals for the 2013-2014 academic year must be submitted no later than Monday, March 18, 2013 at Midnight (Eastern time) Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed.

Please submit completed packets to the Office of Residence Life located on the first floor of Earlham Hall or electronically to to Residence Life.

All members of the proposed group must be eligible to participate in housing selection. All members of a proposing group should confirm that they have no enrollment holds on their account, i.e., financial, academic, disciplinary or other. Proposals whose entire group are in good standing with the College are strongly preferred.