Klee's First Counselor - Cabin Requests at SG
Guess what?! Laura was my first counselor the first time I ever went to summer camp! That’s right, I was in Laura’s cabin at a camp called Camp Stella Maris in Upstate NY. I have so many good memories of the week. I remember giggling and laughing and staying up late. I remember when Laura took the whole cabin to pick lavender to put in our pillow cases before bed. That summer I only went to camp because I could request being in the same cabin as one of my best friends, Olivia. I am so grateful that I did. Eventually I was a staff member at Stella Maris which lead me to Stomping Ground.
When Jack and Laura started Stomping Ground they were waffling over what the camper request policy should be. Some of the camps they visited and admired did not allow campers to make bunk requests. Those camps argue that you come to camp to make new friends and it is hard to be open and inviting of new friendships when you have someone you are already close to in the cabin with you. This makes a lot of sense to me. I remember being a camper and being very intimidated by a gaggle of girls that all knew each other and I didn’t know how to fit in with them. There is only so much a staff member can do to facilitate new friendships if there is already an existing clique. However, I have talked with several parents who say that the only way their child will come to camp is if they can bunk with their friend from home, or that camp is where friends that moved away from each other can reunite. This makes sense to me too. Each kid comes to camp with a different story.
For the first 4 years of Stomping Ground we made lots of judgments based on individual cases. We wanted to humanize the process, and not just base our decision on a policy or procedure. However, in the past year we became overwhelmed with the amount of requests we received, as well as the requests that created chains of friend groups. Some kids felt left out, others felt like their camp experience was dictated by their friends and that they did not get to really branch out.
Honestly it was hard on Laura and I to manage parents and campers’ expectations and we got caught making promises we could not fulfill.
This coming summer we are redefining our cabin request policy to hopefully make more campers happy. We are happy to take one bunk request from each camper, however that request has to be made by both parties. We will do our best to make the accommodations accordingly. We are unable to guarantee any requests as things are always subject to change. We are unable to make requests for campers that are not approximately in the same age group, this is because it can feel really unfair to the other campers in that village.
Everything at camp is mixed age and there is so much opportunity to make connections outside of your cabin group or village. All of the options that kids sign up for are based on interest and kids are free to choose what they want to do and who they want to do it with.
Camp is an awesome opportunity to try new things and be your best self. We are happy to talk with anyone who has questions. Send me an email! Klee@campstompingground.org We will be launching our summer 2020 dates in the coming weeks! Get ready for the best summer yet!
