Smallest First Year Class in Decade: Priest, Reiff Close as Collateral

“Welcome home!” one of my friends said to me as I entered Priest Hall last year. I did not live there, but I walked across campus every night to spend time with all my friends who did. In honor of my dedication to a dorm I had no affiliation with, the members of Priest declared me an honorary member. The common room was filled with puzzles, games, late-night movies and people gathering to study and do homework. My sourdough starter lived on top of the fridge, and once I saw people set up a spike ball net in the kitchen.  

Home to only 52 students each, Priest and Reiff are dorms that are often overlooked. They were also the easiest ones for the school to close down. Walking past Priest and Reiff now, all you see are drawn windows and dark lights. The advantage of living in such a small space is that people develop friendships quickly. Only a limited number of people live there and are united by only the fact that they all live in that dorm. Reiff also housed only one First Year Program, so all the students in the building were taking the same class. Priest and Reiff are cut off from the stretch of road that the remainder of the first-year dorms are on, so they have to create their own fun.  

Before they were home to first-years, Priest and Reiff were frat houses when St. Lawrence had more than two frats. A part of Priest burned down and was redone; the front corridor was replaced and a triple was added, so it technically houses 53 students. Along with Gaines, they were transformed into first-year dorms. However, with the class of 2028 only having around 450 students, there weren’t enough students to fill these two dorms. They are left desolate and quiet.  

Students who previously lived in these dorms are mourning them as well. Sophomore Cecily Hansen, class of ‘27, recounts knowing everyone’s name and gathering together to do homework and cook together, and wishes that more people could experience what she did living in Priest. They fostered a sense of community, which is one of the goals of the St. Lawrence First-Year Program.  

Hopefully, we see a resurgence in admission numbers and can see more first-year students getting a close-knit experience. Until then, the two buildings stand closed on 3 Maple Street, waiting for more residents to come in and say, “Welcome home.”