Fords have gotten a chance to share their passions, whether it's hosting a party or learning American Sign Language, through the Experimental College since around 1997.
When hosting a party, make sure everyone has a place to sit. To ensure early arrivals feel comfortable, always leave a couple of easy tasks—say putting out chopped vegetables on a tray—for them to do. And at a cookout, have something for guests to munch on (kale chips, anyone?) while the mainstays are grilling.
Those were among the tidbits of advice shared during a recent meeting of“Hosting 101,” an Experimental College (ExCo) class offered this past semester. The popular enrichment courses are designed and taught by Haverford College students who want to share their passions with peers. Since ExCo's start as resolution that passed at Plenary in 1997, the ungraded, not-for-credit classes have attracted hundreds of students eager to master conversational French, figure out how to solve a Rubik's Cube, delve into the works of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, or learn just about anything else under the sun.
“It a very Haverfordian thing,” says Larisa Antonisse '15, a political science major from Silver Spring, Md., and co-head of the ExCo program.“Students are willing to take time out of their schedules and teach and take these classes.”
Antonisse and Michelle Babicz '15, the other co-head, have led ExCo since 2012.“You realize the diverse talents of people at this school,” says Babicz, a psychology major from Levittown, N.Y.“Having classes to showcase those and teach them to other students in a low-pressure environment is really appealing to us.”
About 25 to 100 students come out each semester for the fun classes, some of which have grown out of life-long individual passions (cheese-making, skateboarding, hosting) and others of which have developed out of new experiences (an internship in Nashville led to a recent lyric-writing class).
Besides“Hosting 101,” students could also sign up for“American Sign Language for Beginners” and“Basic Lifeskills: How to Be a Real Person Beyond Haverford” this semester. In past years, the much-anticipated ExCo catalog has had more than a dozen options, many involving food. Most ideas get approved, though an sailing class was turned down because of lialbility concerns and logistical difficulties.
Damon Motz-Storey '16 and Brianna“Brie” Groh '15, party hosts extraordinaire, decided to teach“Hosting 101” after Motz-Storey marveled at Groh's enthusiasm and skill at throwing together a picnic for a Customs Program.
The exchange went something like this:
“Do you totally love planning parties?” he asked.
“Yes, love it,” said Groh, an economics major with a statistics minor from Tucson, Ariz.
“Do you want to host an ExCo about hosting?” ventured Motz-Storey, a math major with a concentration in education and minor in music who learned to host from his mother in Denver, Col.
“That would be super fun,” she said.
The rest is delicious history. On this evening, the Multicultural Lounge has have been turned into a barbecue-themed party space. Food prep stations have been set up around the room. The menu—seemingly ambitiou, but actually quite easy, as the hosts/teachers point out—consists of Kale Chips, Roasted Corn Mexican-Style, Asian Fusion Cole Slaw, Iced Chai Tea, and Banana Boats.
Yancheng Dai '18 of Shanghai, China, joined the class to improve his culinary capabilities.“I've never cooked food for myself,” he says, blushing a bit.“This is an opportunity to learn some useful life skills.”
Grace Mangigian '16, a psychology major from Ann Arbor, Mich., loves that ExCo offers a break from the academic rigor that consumes much of a Ford's semester.“This is a different kind of fun than my psychology class,” she says.“It's a different way of using your brain.”
“Hosting 101,” though, does have its downside.“It's very fattening,” says the petite Mangigian.“It's usually my second dinner.”
The half dozen students begin the evening by mixing kale with olive oil and salt and spreading the pieces out on baking trays.
“Kale chips are more successful if you don't have real, real big pieces,” Groh tells the group.
“In my mind, recipes are helpful suggestions, but not Biblical rules,” Motz-Storey says, adding more salt to the chips.
“I love all things teaching,” he says later.“That's totally my jam.”
“It's fun,” agrees Groh, who says she honed her hostess skills from helping her less-adept Dad throw gatherings.“I planned the party and gave him the grocery receipt.”
While kale chips baked, the students slathered corn on the cob in butter and goat cheese with a sprinkling of cayenne pepper and squeeze of lime; stuffed bananas with marshmallows and chocolate chips, and tossed coleslaw with peanut dressing.
Then it was chow time.“It's good,” declares Dai as he bites into his gooey banana boat concoction.
“This is so fun,” adds Mangigian,“and an easy campfire thing.”
