Cold showers, broken furniture, foul odors, and a myriad of structural and maintenance issues have several independent men complaining about housing.
After touring campus back in January, the Board of Trustees was disappointed with the state of campus housing and directed the administration to “look into providing new furnishings for independent housing.”
But after the College endowment took a hit 18 months ago, the administration is now focused on improving preexisting housing rather than implementing new building projects.
“The suggestion that Fred Wilson made was to do enough that would not necessarily commit us to a huge undertaking that would be planned on systematically,” President Pat White said.
White hopes to “spend some money either for new furnishings new paint, and other kinds of things to fix up the residence halls we now have.”
“We recognize that we will not be doing a kind of College Hall complete renovation. At least, that’s not in the plans right at this moment. But we may be able to do some renovation, some fixing up, some additional furniture (newer furniture), that might make the residence halls more attractive and more useful for the students,” White said.
In regards to the directive, White stated that the administration has not taken steps toward investigating the issue. “This is something that one normally does over the summer,” White said.
White elaborated by saying that opening the central area of Sparks Center and installing the action station was an example of how the College can make meaningful improvements that don’t strain the budget and general fund.
“That’s the kind of thing that [David] Morgan, [Larry] Griffith, and [Dean] Raters should be looking at right now,” White said.
And it’s those improvements that students seem to be asking for. Freshman Michael Keve recently sent out a survey via the campus e-mail system to gather feedback on independent housing.
“I created the survey to gain insight on the stances independent students take on the room and board they are provided at Wabash. I focused the questions to help the IMA and administration at Wabash discover the main concerns of students. These results have also been used to help improve spaces in independent facilities and to help discuss options to help restructure the meal plan,” Keve said.
And the results are in line with what one would expect.
14-percent of those who took the survey gave Martindale Hall a 1 for quality of living. College Hall ranked the highest with 28.2% giving it an 8. Morris and Wolcott tied with 22.6% and 29%, respectively giving it a 7. Off-campus houses received a 6 with 32.1%.
“It is evident most students feel some of the older independent facilities or dormitories need to be renovated and rebuilt,” Keve said.
But rebuilding could take a while.
“We are probably looking at several years before we’re able to move ahead with some of the more ambitious aspects of independent housing. In the mean time, we have to make sure that these places are as nice as they can be,” White said.”
Contingent on market conditions, White estimated that it might be three to four years before the administration moves forward on injecting detail into the currently vague master plan. And it could take five to six years before any ground is broken.
After the administration announced it would move forward on its plans to renovate the athletic fields, some students voiced concern that the College was putting sports before housing and academic concerns. But White contends that the athletic fields were a good investment that offered the most “’bang for our buck’ for admissions.”
“From reports from admission folks, we had more questions about the quality of our athletic fields than we’ve had about the quality of our residence halls,” White said.
And the fields project has a price tag of $6 million compared to the estimated $20-$25 million that would be required for a new student center or dorm.
The College owns land west of campus along Crawford Street that could eventually end up being home to smaller, apartment-style living units depending upon whether Morris and Wolcott are kept in place. Morris and Wolcott’s fate is largely contingent on the specific details of the new student center that, loosely defined, would resemble an above ground bookstore with a potential convenience shop-type concept.
In the mean time, the administration wants to focus on “more usable space.” White mentioned potential upgrades to the basements of Morris, Wolcott, and Martindale based on feedback from prospective students concerned about a lack of common spaces in independent living units.
Beginning this summer, independents will see “something less radical than College Hall but some something more than just a new coat of paint on the old building, and that includes new furniture,” White said.
In addition, the administration is moving toward a key card access system that has been discussed for quite some time. The details of implementation are unclear, but White speculated that installation of the system in some residence halls could begin this summer.
While Keve’s survey was not brought about by the Trustees’ directive, it certainly represents the establishment of a dialogue on campus. And it’s a dialogue that will surely continue.
