Freshman Housing

lizschup
Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:45:26 +0000

There is an article in the current Student Life outllining the timeline for new dorm construction that will eventually replace all freshman dorms.

Here is an excerpt:

A tentative plan has been proposed for the destruction and replacement of the freshman dorms that will remain after Liggett has been torn down this summer.
The schedule for destruction, which is subject to change, would begin with Beaumont in fall 2007, followed by Lee, Umrath and Rubelmann in fall 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively, said Jim Severine, associate director and manager of building services for Residential Life. By fall 2011, all of these dormitories would be replaced.
Whether these new residential colleges would be connected like the new Liggett and Koenig residence halls or remain separated is yet to be decided, said Carroll.
Although the designs for the new dormitories on the South 40 are still in their early stages, they will provide facilities superior to those of the old dorms, according to Severine.
“Overall, students have been really pleased with the designs that have been presented to them,” said Severine. “Things they were commenting on [that they wanted in the new dorms] were better lighting in rooms and increased study space. They’ve liked the bathroom layouts, and the double and triple spaces.”
The larger triple rooms in the new dorms will be less cramped than those in the older freshman dorms, said Severine.
“Triple spaces [in the new dorms] will be much more accommodating,” said Severine. “They are specifically designed for three students, where sometimes [in the old dorms] you get the situation where another bed was shoved in there.”
Freshman Jamie Hanley, who lives in Liggett, will be disappointed to see her current home go.
“It’s sad, because a lot of other freshmen will be able to go back to their dorms with memories and we won’t have that,” said Hanley. “There are lots of things about the old dorms people really like and the fact that we’re getting rid of them is really upsetting, but there are lots of things people like about the new dorms, too.”
Despite students’ sentimental attachment to their freshman dorms, it is necessary to replace them, said Carroll.
“These dorms were built in late '50s, and they really have been well maintained, and students become very attached to where they live regardless of whether it’s new or old,” said Carroll. “But the point is that some of the behind-the-scenes things are really antiquated…They were built at a time when campuses were building what they could afford, but they’ve served us well. We looked at them to see if we could use existing buildings and rearrange them, but found there wasn’t really any way to go about it.”