Students filled straws with colored Sandy Candy, frolicked playfully on an inflatable camouflaged obstacle course, received henna tattoos and, of course, visited the petting zoo.
Now only five years old, it’s no surprise that Sixth College likes a carnival.
On June 1, before the crew of Giddy Up Ranch unloaded goats, ponies and llamas on campus, Sixth freshman Lauren Sheffield watched event staff set up. The middle of Camp Snoopy, the nickname for Sixth’s residence halls, was soon the site of students crawling across the grass, giggling and chasing chickens, rabbits and a small black pig.
The design of the cabin-style dorm houses encircling Sixth College Residence Hall Quad inspires a sense of community among its residents.
Living in Camp Snoopy has been a wholesome experience, Sheffield said.
“”I feel like I’m in a summer camp,”” she said. “”It really differentiates school and housing.””
Sharing why she believes the college is able to maintain such a sense of community, Sixth senior Priti Shah said, “”We’re smaller, so we’re able to have more interaction.””
In the center of Camp Snoopy, Ebonee Williams mingled with students during Sixth’s annual Kuncocshun Festival. As practicum coordinator, she manages the college’s unique course requirement which allows students to combine academic and practical life skills through their own personally planned project.
“”[The practicum] can give students a unique edge,”” Williams said. “”There is a place where skill and interaction can be merged.””
A recent experiment of one practicum class was to briefly install a living room at the Gilman bus stop near the old admissions office – complete with an awning and purple-cushioned seats.
Sixth junior Ahmed Hassanein said the practicum is about blending art and technology to improve comfort in the lives of the community, even students waiting for a bus.
The required three-quarter Culture, Art and Technology sequence, much like the practicum, contributes to the youthful optimism and community participation.
“”A lot of people don’t like CAT because they’re so broad, but it really gives you freedom to do what you want,”” said Sheffield.
Hassanein explained that no one enjoys the requirement their first year, but after completing the sequence, students realize the value of lessons learned.
“”You can get an engineering degree, a biology degree – [CAT] is what makes being at Sixth a really unique experience,”” Hassanein said.
Hassanein recalled being in CAT during a Sixth custodial staff strike.
“”The professor said, ‘We’re here to study culture, so what should we do with the strike?’ and the entire class – 200 people – decided to go,”” Hassanein said.
Sixth Provost Gabriele Wienhausen helped develop the college from its inception and is optimistic about its future.
“”I want to graduate students who have hope and who will make the world a better place, who understand what it means to be creative and innovative, who know the power and need of doing things together,”” she said.
Leading by example, Wienhausen was a visible presence throughout the festivities.
Staff and students filled the quad, observing art displays and creating crafts together. An elementary school carnival by design, Kuncocshun embodied the spirit Wienhausen has helped to shape over the past several years.
While the environment of Sixth is reminiscent of a simpler time in students’ lives, the community sprit it cultivates proves helpful to the progressive curriculumn of a budding college.
