Blog's Guide to Program Houses
Want to know who will be filling Buxton's dorms next fall? Looking for a specific community to share a space with? Just can't stand going back to a dorm? Worry not, Brown University program houses are here to help! Ironically, this guide will likely be published after all the houses have stopped recruiting, but oh well, now you’ll be informed for next year.Tech HouseTech House is located in Harkness, a dorm shared with the Kappa Delta Sorority. It's conveniently close to the Ratty, though it also has a kitchen for those who wish to avoid the inexplicable cost of the meal plan. Other features of the house include a common room/study area and a workshop downstairs. The workshop, which is unique to Tech House, offers a 3D printer and provides students space to complete many projects, including wood working. Overall, the community at Tech House is centered around united interests such as creative building, video games, and art projects. 
French HouseFrench House is, surprise surprise, a house for people who care about French culture! Located in the majestic Machado House, it's incredibly beautiful and rather spacious as well. I had never seen the inside of Machado before writing this post and when I did, I felt as though I had stepped into one of my Pinterest boards. Either that or Downton Abbey. The house has several lounges (with several pianos) and kitchens as well, which makes being off the meal plan very convenient and possible. These spaces are shared by the three program houses in the building as well as the independent residents.The community in the house operates around French and Francophone culture. Its members make up a small, tight-knit group. Knowledge of the French language is not required, and instead the house looks for those who are connected to the cultural elements of the house.
Latinx House The Latinx program house is also located in Machado. This house welcomes all Latinx identities regardless of the ability to speak Spanish, and frequently hosts dinners and parties to bring the community together. The Latinx House share the same perks of living in Machado as the French House. Though they recently introduced dues for the house, they said that they are understanding of members’ different situations and always remain committed to inclusion.
Casa Machado Casa Machado is the Spanish House, contained within Machado House as well. This house is focused around Latinx and hispanic culture, including the Spanish language. Speaking Spanish is not necessarily a requirement to live in the house, however; instead, members share an interest in the culture associated with the language. They also create events for the community. But wait, you might be saying — I’ve heard this before. Isn’t this like the Latinx House, which is also in Machado? Why yes, you industrious reader you. However, Casa Machado is centered around all cultures associated with the Spanish language while the Latinx House (unsurprisingly) focuses specifically on Latinx culture. 
Donovan HouseDonovan House is a substance-free community located in the Plantations House building on Bowen Street. This house's members are a group of students who have agreed to avoid any non-prescribed substances, and members hold each other accountable to this standard. Members can have a range of reasons for choosing this lifestyle, including recovery, religious reasons, or simply personal preference. The house itself is cozy with some really interesting architecture. It’s fairly far from campus, but it is right next to Andrews (and the Nelson, for those mythological outliers who are actually committed enough to go there). 
King HouseKing House is something between a frat and a program house. The group, also called St. Anthony’s, is technically a literary fraternity that's interested in exploring the idea of literariness in many different forms and mediums. If you ever have the chance to go to this house, you will likely be offered tea immediately and sucked into a conversation about the best kinds of condiments. The house itself offers a kitchen, a solarium, and a library, and its residents include both members of the fraternity and independent students. On Sundays, the fraternity offers pancake breakfasts (and an origami session, if you’re lucky).
West HouseWest House is one of the two environmental program houses at Brown. West House is known for their open vegetarian dinners on Fridays (which I highly recommend if you’re a fan of legumes). Perhaps the first thing you’ll notice when you enter this house is the buckets — they are everywhere and contain everything from pasta to peanut butter (while also serving as excellent seating options).West House is focused on sustainability and cooperation towards achieving that goal, which translates into members sharing tasks and chores around the house. It has both in-house members who live in West House and out-of-house members who come to make meals. Another thing to note: the house is not strictly vegetarian. All shared communal food is vegetarian with vegan options; however, members are allowed to bring in personal food, including meat.
North House North House is the second of Brown's two environmental houses, and has a similar core value system to that of its sister West House, as well as the same love of bright orange buckets. The food system there works similarly as well, and members rotate tasks around the house while also being able to have their own space. Residents of North House talk about enjoying the homeyness they get from living in a house and being able to interact with a stable community on a long-term basis. The house is entirely made up of doubles, though, so if you’re looking for a single, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. 
Asian/Asian American HouseThe Asian/Asian American Program house (also known as AAA... triple A?) is a new program house that will begin officially in Buxton in the fall semester of 2019. The house will support a community that celebrate all branches of Asian culture, and Asian American students will be included as well as international students. The Asian/Asian American House plans to host events such cooking sessions and movie nights throughout the academic year. The group is a diverse collection of people who will come together to share each other's experiences in order to build a family bond. Buxton is very close to the Ratty, but it also contains a kitchen exclusively for the program house, plus a library.Natives at BrownNatives at Brown (NAB) will also be moving into Buxton next semester. NAB is a student-run organization committed to building a community amongst Native American students and also with the local Native community, as well as increasing awareness about Native issues. Next year, their community of 16 will reside on Buxton's third and fourth floors, where they will also host weekly meetings and community bonding events, such as movie nights, monthly meals, and pottery and beading events. NAB aims to use the building as a gathering space for students to heal, bond, and discuss the issues affecting the peoples of their respective tribal nations and communities in political, social, and cultural realms. 
Finlandia Finlandia, or "Findy," as it’s known by those who don’t want to deal with all those syllables, is a co-op house located on Waterman across from the SciLi. It technically isn’t a program house, since it's off campus housing, but hey, we don’t care about technicalities here. One perk of this technicality, however, is that occupants get to avoid the frankly ridiculous cost of on-campus housing! The walls of Findy are covered in doodles and messages, including a piece of bread which mysteriously has no mold on it yet, after apparently a month. The house includes a kitchen as well as a cozy common area. Because Findy is a co-op, house members are all assigned specific tasks which they complete on a regular basis in order to keep the house running smoothly.If you’re looking to be brought back to the 70s (or you just appreciate the aesthetic), this is the house for you!
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