Written by Brennan Berryhill
It was hype night—the time when all dorms across campus stoke their residents into a fanatical frenzy over Homecoming Spirit Week and its competitions. With windows shuttered by past Homecoming banners, the Whitley Residence men gathered in their common area to watch a past year’s winning Mock Rock routine, performed by the alliance Whit Wat Way (a combination of Whitley, Waterman, and Galloway dorms). While the intention was to drum up excitement and encourage participation in Homecoming events—the marquee Mock Rock competition in particular—house director Ryan Perkins, ’22, also posed a crucial question, one that would shake up a major powerhouse on campus.
For Ryan, Mock Rock has always been an opportunity for the dorms to come together as a community and grow as a team. “It’s also a great way for freshmen to get to know the rest of their dorm,” he said. His love for the camaraderie extends back before his graduation, when he was a student living in Niedfeldt Residence. He started helping his resident assistant (RA) team with choreography during his sophomore year, and his hard work paid off when Niedfeldt won the Mock Rock competition in the fall of 2021. Ryan has gotten a taste of success and brotherhood, and he hopes he can kindle that same spirit in Whitley.
With everyone gathered around the television, Ryan asked whether Whitley residents wanted to stay in their alliance with the Galloway and Waterman dorms, or if they wanted to strike out on their own. Almost half of the guys in the common area were freshmen, with no conception of the difference, but the reactions of the RAs and veterans were telling. Indeed, Whit Wat Way had been a very successful coalition in its four years of existence, winning all of Homecoming two out of their four chances. Its first win in 2019 was a massive deal, toppling Simpson’s eight-year reign of Homecoming dominance. Why would Whitley break up a good thing?
Ryan had experienced a similar split years earlier when Niedfeldt left an alliance to experience Homecoming on its own. That bold move paid dividends with the 2021 win. But Ryan’s chief motive isn’t winning.
While he’s spent countless hours planning and preparing his dorm to compete, his primary vision for Whitley is to create a community where men want to spend time together. He wants hallmates to become a friend group, and he wants to establish new traditions so that Whitley can become its own culture. “This should be a place where guys want to hang out and do things together,” Ryan said.
The discussion was a lively one around the television. There were some who wanted to stick with Whit Wat Way and the success it’s had. But others argued that the best way to achieve Ryan’s vision of a distinct Whitley culture was to compete in Homecoming as Whitley. Eventually, it was brought to a vote. Buoyed by the freshmen, the schism was made official by a slim margin. Whit Wat Way was no more.
There will be challenges for Whitley in its first year competing as an individual dorm. It doesn’t yet have the numbers that other dorms boast, and its Mock Rock team will be smaller than most. Tasks that were shared will become theirs alone. Yet despite these obstacles, there is a pervading optimism around the dorm. The men are excited about the opportunity.
That optimism isn’t isolated to Whitley. Unlike many team breakups, this one appears to be friendly. “I see this as a really refreshing start for Whitley, a chance for them to prove themselves on their own,” said Waterman’s head RA Ingrid Dornbirer, ’24. But what’s next for Waterman and Galloway? Without Whitley, they’ve added on Koon residence and formed the Kno Way Man alliance. Ingrid is proud of the work her team has put in, and one of her favorite aspects of Homecoming is seeing how the friendship and team-building pays off far into the future.
Whatever the results are for Whitley and Kno Way Man this year, the Hillsdale tradition of using Homecoming as a time for growth and bonding remains alive and active. Ryan hopes this new chapter for Whitley will propel the dorm into his vision for the future. “I want us to be the men that are actively involved around campus,” he said. “We should be a group of men leading the culture and the community.”
Brennan Berryhill, ’27, hails from Denver, Colorado, and when he isn’t writing or obsessively taking notes, you can find him playing trombone, debating, or nerding out over football.
Published in September 2023
