Author: Richie DeMaria
Director of Residence Life and Housing Services Kecia Baker fielded questions on Pauley, Rangeview and first- and second-year housing on Thursday, Feb. 28, at the first General Assembly meeting of the semester. She confirmed the use of Pauley for first-year housing beginning next year, the new requirement for sophomores to live on campus and addressed critiques of Residence Life.
Residence Life and Housing Services staff were in attendance, including Interim Assistant Director Connor Nelson, Assistant Director Maureen Regan, Rachel Kay ’07, Upper Campus Area Coordinator Kim Duell and Lower Campus Area Coordinator Bobby Rodgers.
Pauley Hall will house first-year residents as part of the CSP program next year, Baker said. “Some CSP classes are tied in with the multicultural hall,” she said.
When asked if first-years would be required to apply to use the hall, she responded that Res Life was “still working that out,” but added that there would be no need for students grouped within a multicultural CSP class to apply separately. “If it’s tied with CSP, [students] don’t really need to apply, so that’s how we’ll do it,” she said.
The school hopes to reintegrate the Living and Learning Communities of years past. “We are looking at working with CSP classes and putting them in the same hall,” Baker said.
Baker also addressed the recent decision to make it a requirement for sophomores to live on campus, citing the school’s goal of becoming a four-year residential college. “The majority of peer institutions require all first-years to live on campus, and many require students to live on campus for the first two years,” she said. “We are defining ourselves as a residential college. A huge component of that definition is students living on campus.”
The decision, Baker said, was not hers, but made collectively. “It was not my decision. It was the result of a long conversation involving the retention committee and faculty,” she said.
There would, however, be some exceptions to the new rule. “If sophomores don’t want to live on campus, there’s a form they can fill out,” she said. Students whose families live within a certain mile radius or who could not afford to live on campus would qualify, Baker said.
Most future students should expect to live on campus for the first two years upon enrollment. “If students decide to come here, this is what they’re agreeing to,” she said.
Much of the meeting was spent addressing problems in Rangeview, including the hall’s lack of multiple computer labs and the unreliable ID cards. When asked of the lack of multiple computer labs in Rangeview, Baker said, “We can definitely work with ITS to get more equipment.”
Baker touched on the subject of ID cards, saying that the current system has proven ineffective. “We are extremely unhappy with the card swipes and are going with a different vendor for future renovations,” she said.
Along with the change in ID cards will come the installment of energy efficient microfridges in all renovated halls. “Every renovated hall will have microfridges, and eventually all rooms will,” she said. “These microfridges use less power and are more energy efficient than the appliances you all currently have in your rooms. If students are unhappy [with them], we can take them out.”
Baker also discussed the future of the Women’s Center, which is relocating to Stewie Hall as the Women and Gender Resource Center. “That [current location]-1599-will be torn down and a new alumni center will be built,” she said. “We are trying to make it a more accessible space, a more public space for the resource center.” In the past, visitors have felt like they were encroaching on a private living space, she said.
When asked about the reluctance of RAs to critique Res Life for fear of losing their jobs, Baker said, “If RAs felt their jobs were in jeopardy, I apologize for that. If we ever made them feel that way, I apologize for that. I am saddened to think people couldn’t critique Res Life.”
She distinguished between constructive criticism and derision. “If you work for Res Life and you say Res Life sucks, you also say I suck,” she said. “But people who were eligible to work re-applied . . . so I don’t think we’re that horrible.”
GA Co-Chair Noel Hollowell (sophomore) concluded the meeting with the announcement that there will be fewer GA meetings this semester. “There will be less GA’s so we can concentrate the discussion” and hopefully increase attendance, she said.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
