Proposed housing renovations inspired commotion amongst students when announced last month. However, Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Reed seized the opportunity to elaborate on future housing plans in an open forum hosted by IRHA last night in the Oak Room.
The presentation was the fourth or fifth group meeting on the topic; the preliminary meetings included staff, residential advisors and FUSA, but Reed also said that he presented future housing renovations to a group of neighbors “because things like this must also be approved by the town as well.”
The main goal of the housing project are for juniors and seniors to have the opportunity to live in non-traditional living areas and to create “a situation where no freshman would live in a converted triple.” According to Residence Life, 30-40 percent of freshmen currently live in converted triples, sophomores live in Jogues Hall and Gonzaga Hall, and juniors live in Kostka and Claver suites, which have traditionally housed sophomores.
“Campus housing today does not reflect the current enrollment trends,” Reed said.
Townhouse construction is scheduled to begin this summer and will come to a halt when the 2007-2008 school year begins. However, townhouse basements will be inaccessible while school is in session. Plans should be complete by September 2008; in the meantime, funding must be increased, according to Reed.
“We will use a $40 million bond to pay for this and no additional cost will be implemented to your tuitions,” he told an audience of 50 students and administrators.
According to Reed, 190 students will live in the renovated basements, or garden level apartments, making it possible for 90 more students to live in the townhouses.
Parking changes will accommodate the increase in students living in the townhouses by constructing a 100-yard walkway between the townhouses and the Walsh Athletic Center. Students will also be asked to park in Dolan Hall’s north lot.
Reed emphasized that townhouse basements were never intended for student living or socializing.
“The townhouses were built to have a crawl space underneath, and the contractor decided it would be easy enough to go a few feet deeper [in order to] create a storage area,” Reed said.
As part of his strategic plan, University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx emphasizes an integrated living-learning environment, which equips dorms with luxury lounges and a study area. Currently, Loyola Hall and Dolan Hall meet these requirements, but the lounges of other dorms on the quad have been converted into dorm rooms in order to meet the freshmen housing demand.
St. Ignatius Hall, located next to the apartments, has been used to house the 50-60 Jesuits who live on campus. Since the number of Jesuits on campus has decreased, however, these rooms will be converted to house 70 students and another Jesuit residence will be constructed.
“We have data showing that students do not mind living on the perimeter of campus in such cases as the townhouses,” said Reed.
During the 1980s, students put tombstones by the Oak Room when the state changed the drinking age from 18 to 21. After the new housing plan was announced, Reed said he is aware of the Facebook messages posted by students that say the housing plan “sucks the social blood out of Fairfield.” But Reed feels these are normal reactions from students curious about change.
“Some students look at whatever the University does with suspicion,” said Reed.
While some students are upset with the housing changes, Rory Bernier ’10 was content with Reed’s presentation and proposed plans. Bernier thinks students should be well-informed about the housing plans before reacting negatively.
“The fact that students think the absence of townhouse basements is a major problem is just absurd,” he said.
Leave a Reply