The new first-year residences currently under construction where James and Stearns Halls used to stand will open next fall. However, the renovation of Pratt Dormitory and Morrow Dormitory will take bed space away, making it impossible to accommodate the entire class of 2009 in traditional first-year housing.
According to Senator Elan Ghazal '05, a member of the College Council, after careful consideration the Council opted for the plan which allowed the most first-years students to live in close proximity to each other. "It was the best way to have the freshmen as centrally located as possible and still have enough housing for them," he said.
This plan guarantees that no sophomore will have to spend two years living in The Plaza or The Waldorf. After the housing forum, the general consensus of the first-years currently living in those dorms was that they are happy with their current situation; however, they would not be content with having to live in the either of the dorms for another full year. "The freshmen who came to the AAS meeting to talk about room draw were very adamant about not staying in the Mods for a second year and with this plan they wouldn't have to," said Ghazal.
Dean of Students Ben Lieber, a member of the College Council, noted that the reason for housing first-years in The Plaza and The Waldorf next year was two-fold. The first and most obvious reason was that turning the dorms into sophomore housing would inevitably result in having a small percentage of the class of 2008 living in modular housing two years in a row.
The second motivation for giving Valentine and Williston to sophomores, and therefore leaving the modular housing to the class of 2009, was that most of the first-years living in the The Waldorf and The Plaza this year have spoken positively about their experience. "The freshmen think it works," said Lieber. He pointed out that the dorms hold 100 students, so the first-years really do not feel isolated from the rest of their class.
According to Dean of Residential Life Charri Boykin-East, students currently living in The Plaza and The Waldorf are concerned with the lack of social space. After meeting with residents, President Anthony Marx, Lieber and Boykin-East have decided to convert one bedroom in each dorm into a studying and social space. "The dorm lounge is small and has a TV in it," she said. "We will therefore create an additional study space in each building for students to use."
AAS President Ryan Park '05, another member of the College Council, agreed with the decision. "We felt that it would be unfair to subject students to living in the mods two years in a row, which would invariably happen if we made them sophomore housing," he said. "In addition, we felt that since most first-years live in one-room doubles anyway, it seems most fair to keep the Mods freshmen housing."
Some residents of the mods are excited about the decision to keep first-year students in the dorms. Allison Berman '08, a current resident of The Plaza, said that although she has been extremely happy with her stay there this year, she is relieved that she will not have to risk living there for another year. She agrees with the decision to house first-years in The Plaza and The Waldorf because of the way the dorms are set up. "I think it is a really good freshman dorm because we live on one big hall with fifty people and see them all every day," she said. "It's a good way of meeting people."
However, Katina Hubbard '07, an RC in The Plaza, believes that the mods are more suitable for upperclassmen. "The mods have insufficient common spaces for freshmen, who more than any other year need room for study breaks and programming. General socializing is hindered because of little common rooms," she said. "Speak to anyone who has lived in the mods and they will invariably tell you it's not that bad."
Before choosing to make Williston and Valentine upperclassmen dorms, the College Council considered four housing options for first-year students. The first possibility assigned The Waldorf and The Plaza to upperclassmen, providing 437 beds for first-year students. The second, which assigned Williston and Valentine to upperclassmen, left 430 beds for first-year students. This is the plan the Council finally chose. The Council also considered a third possibility, assigning Appleton Hall and Valentine to upperclassmen, but found that it was inadequate because it only left 412 beds for first-year students. A final possibility would have left Appleton and Williston to upperclassmen, providing 443 beds for first-year students.