At the beginning of this semester, the REAL office–led by Assistant Dean of Residential Education and Living Sara Rothenberger–made the decision to fire the Housefellow of Hamilton for not having reported alleged instances of honor code violations. Sean Soucy ‘20 depended on income from his Housefellow position to attend Connecticut College, and following his firing he was left with no equivalent financial option. Soucy, who dozens of students current and former students described in interviews and online comments as a highly-respected and beloved community member and Housefellow, was forced to leave the College and transfer to the University of Maine.
Soucy did not go through any College conduct processes, and his leaving the College is a financial matter and not an explicit expulsion. But Josh Simensky ‘20, who started an online petition in hopes of pressuring the College to reinstate Soucy, said “the decision to fire Sean was not equitable, because being fired from a position that someone needs to stay in school may as well be an expulsion, while firing someone from the same position who has more funds is a slap on the wrist.”
Word of Soucy’s situation spread through College social media circles in mid-January with the Simensky petition, which grew quickly to over 1800 signatures in just a few days. The Connecticut College website lists the school’s population as 1865 students.
Sara Rothenberger’s decision to fire Soucy, a decision that became a de facto expulsion, was described in the Simensky petition as based on Soucy not reporting underage drinking at certain events. According to multiple students interviewed and online petitioners who posted comments, the allegations are something many at Connecticut College would also be guilty of. Avatar Simpson ‘20, a Floor Governor, wrote online: “It was an unfair situation that, if applied across all of REAL staff, would result in all the house fellows and floor governors getting fired.”
Yoldas Yildiz ‘18, the former SGA Vice President of 2017-2018, commented on the petition, raising the question of possible burdensome responsibilities placed on student workers. He wrote that the REAL office “needs to stop treating its students and workers like pawn pieces and start seeing them as actual human beings with complicated lives that don’t just do their bidding and still live a student lifestyle.”
Reactions citing issues of fairness and socioeconomic equity were accompanied by the real shocker: Soucy, who was elected by the student body to serve as SGA Chair of Residential Affairs, was in his second year of working on student housing staff, and was elected last semester to serve as a junior representative on the school’s Honor Council, appears to be widely considered not only a “model student,” but a highly-valued community member specifically valued for his actions in the residential community.
Hatim Siddique ‘22, in an online petition comment, described Soucy as “someone who has been instrumental in making sure that a lot of my fellow first years settle down at Conn easily, by putting our needs ahead of his and always being there for us regardless of time, place, etc. for me personally, as an international student, Sean has helped me and other international [students] so much in adjusting and feeling at home, he represents everything a model college student could be.”
Ken Colombe ‘20, who has served with Soucy on SGA, described Soucy in an online petition comment as “the epitome of a Connecticut College Camel…the school preaches the importance of a well rounded individual. Sean Soucy is that person and inspires others to do the same.” Katie Lliel ‘22 said that Soucy provided her with a positive impression of Conn as a prospective student. She met Sean on an overnight, saying “he was one of the reasons I chose Conn.” Casey Keenan ‘22, a resident of Hamilton, described his former housefellow as “a clear leader on campus. Anytime I struggled with the transition [to College] he was there to help me.”
Others have raised concerns that Rothenberger’s actions could cause a public relations disaster for the College, possibly deterring prospective students from applying or matriculating. Elizabeth Magnan ‘20 commented on the petition: “This event risks the College’s good reputation of camel pride, trust, and fairness, in the name of underage drinking: perhaps an illegal thing to do, but nevertheless commonplace at every single university across the country. Knowing such information, as someone looking to attend, is enough to deter anyone, including those who don’t consume alcohol, from going or even applying.”
Parents have also expressed frustration. In another comment, Lynn Haber wrote: “He did not deserve to get fired and if nothing is done to change this, I will no longer be recommending Connecticut College to friends with prospective students and I will no longer continue to share positive information about the college administration as I did last spring when I volunteered to make welcome calls to parents of new Conn College students.”
On multiple occasions, College administrators have acknowledged Soucy’s influential role in the community and have used Soucy to promote the College. According to multiple first-years, Soucy spoke at an event at last fall’s orientation. Recently, Sean was featured on a College promotional instagram called “ConnChronicles” which advertises the school by choosing students each week to share their experiences.
An update on the change.org page shows an email response from Dean Rothenberger responded to the petition saying “thank you for your perspective” in a cursory email. Other students who emailed administrators reported receiving identical responses. The Voice reached out to Dean Rothenberger on Sunday for further comments, but she was out of office at the time of publication. •
Alex Klavens contributed reporting to this article.
