Knutzen Hall was named after a former professor and student at UW-SP.
Norman E. Knutzen Hall: Best residence hall
The Pointer
jspra793@uwsp.edu
Knutzen Hall has had its roots deeply embedded in environmentalism long before it was named the “Eco-Hall” 10 years ago. In 1967, this four-story residential hall was built and dedicated to Norman E. Knutzen.
Knutzen was a former professor and student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, first arriving on campus in 1911. He taught English from 1931 to 1963, with an emphasis on writers such as Emerson, Melville, Whitman and Thoreau.
“I like to think that I have many of the same philosophies about love of nature that Mr. Thoreau possessed,” Knutzen once said.
He had his students spend time near lakes in order to feel the mood of literature.
Knutzen was well-respected and loved by his students. He was such a popular professor that it took some students years to get into his class.
He spent most of his time at a cottage on Pike Lake, which some called his “Walden.”
Today, Knutzen Hall holds about 255 residents and is home to the Environmentally Aware Residents Thinking Holistically organization.
“E.A.R.T.H. is an organization that aims to help feed the ravenous eco-conscious spirit of the Knutzen community,” said E.A.R.T.H. president Helen Leavenworth.
E.A.R.T.H. put on the Eco-Involvement Fair at the beginning of the school year to display what other student organizations were doing about sustainability issues on campus.
Some of the activities E.A.R.T.H. has done to raise environmental awareness include organic versus non-organic food tasting, bike workshops, nature walks, walks to the Stevens Point Area Co-Op and Farmer’s Market and a plastic bag recycling program.
“We watch documentaries focusing on nature and environmental issues to gain further knowledge of the Earth, and the earth room is loaded with magazines and textbooks on the environment,” said Alyssa Untiedt, the Knutzen Hall environmental programmer.
Knutzen Hall has also been composting their food waste with worms since 1999. They recently celebrated the tenth anniversary with a “Feast of the Worms” and ate spaghetti and dirt cake with gummy worms, said hall director Ann Grissman.
Solar panels were installed to the roof of the building in 2004, and have since been used to heat the water system.
Knutzen Hall is also home to one of the two natural resources Freshmen Interest Groups on campus.
“I think it’s a great hall and the staff works well together to provide good programs for the residents,” said Grissman.
The legend of Knutzen lives on through the hallways and residents of what is now Knutzen Hall.
“Properly speaking, there can be no history but natural history, for there is no past in the soul but in nature,” Knutzen wrote in a personal memoir.
