The students who live on the only wellness floor in the residence halls recently voted to discontinue its program, saying the ISU Department of Residence did not get enough feedback from students before implementing it.

A wellness floor policy was put in effect for Emerson House of Larch Hall at the beginning of fall 1999 because department officials said there was a demand for it.

However, 48 residents of eighth-floor Emerson House voted last week to discontinue the program. Four voted to make the floor substance-free and one voted to have a wellness floor.

Mimi Benjamin, residence hall coordinator, said according to the department’s Terms and Conditions, the definition of a wellness floor is stated in general terms because it’s a relatively new concept.

“It’s supposed to provide students with similar interests in wellness-related activities,” Benjamin said. “The floors are substance-free, and they also develop a personal wellness plan and participate in community service activities.”

Benjamin said last summer, department officials thought residents wanted the wellness floor. However, after seeing students’ reactions to it, it became apparent that students didn’t really want it after all.

“Residents on this floor do not have this demand,” she said.

Benjamin said Emerson House residents did not have a choice about whether it should be a wellness floor. Paul Duncan, co-president of Emerson House, said residents were informed about the decision to make the floor a wellness floor in spring 1999.

“[There was] no student input whatsoever. We were told, and it was pushed upon us,” said Duncan, sophomore in transportation and logistics.

Benjamin attended Emerson House’s floor meeting last week to help them with the voting process.

To make sure all the floor’s residents could be involved, Benjamin made arrangements for students to go to Friley Hall to vote if they couldn’t attend the meeting.

“Eighty percent of the total floor has to vote to change the policy,” Benjamin said.

Duncan said the program has not been successful this year; the residents of Emerson House were supposed to participate in various activities during the year, but no one followed through.

“They said that they were going to do all of these programs like set exercise plans and speakers,” Duncan said. “Our hall director pushed the issue of wellness when there was little support.”

Emerson House resident Natalie Sims, freshman in art and design, said many people aren’t aware of what being a part of a wellness floor is supposed to entail.

“They didn’t know what it was, and we still don’t know what it is,” she said.