The Daily Tar Heel
URL: http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/11/housing_folo_1130
Current Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 08:14:26 -0400
Housing changes debated
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Members of the Residence Hall Association are worried a new policy might limit diversity in residence halls.
Housing officials have proposed a plan to stop reserving space for freshmen on North Campus in an effort to keep more upperclassmen from moving off campus.
But many student leaders are speaking out against the proposed policy.
Andrea Pino, community governor of Kenan Community, started a petition against the proposal.
Pino said the decision to segregate freshmen and upperclassmen would limit diversity and prevent opportunities for learning and mentorship.
At a tense meeting of the RHA leadership Tuesday, members discussed the possible policy change, even questioning whether or not it was true.
The University’s announcement of the policy change has been removed from the housing website. The RHA will take a stance when the proposal is confirmed, members said.
Edgar Lopez, governor of Manning West, said even if the proposal does create more space for upperclassmen on North Campus, these students will already have made their living arrangements for next year.
RHA President Hans Peng said he fears the implications of separating students based on their class.
“Although this policy doesn’t explicitly prohibit (freshmen) from living on North Campus, it will definitely make it harder for them to do so,” Peng wrote in an email.
“I myself was a North Campus resident my first year at Carolina, and I loved talking to upperclassmen and benefiting from their wisdom,” he said, adding that the change would also stigmatize South Campus and make it a more undesirable living location for upperclassmen.
Pino said she does not want to see the freshman experience limited to one area of campus.
“I appreciate housing, but I also think that housing can do more,” Pino said. “Not everyone is looking for the same experience. Diversity is the most important thing.”
Pino said part of UNC’s appeal is students’ freedom to choose residence halls.
She said residency restrictions could cause a lack of communication regarding opportunities in student government and residence leadership.
Elizabeth Lynch, an admissions ambassador, said she agreed.
Lynch said the policy would be detrimental to freshmen’s awareness of campus events and community activities.
The proposed change comes from an effort to fill 434 empty beds on campus, which cost UNC about $4.3 million in wasted space, said Rick Bradley, assistant director of housing assignments and communication, on Monday.
Student Body Secretary Adam Jutha said student government is aware of the issue and is currently seeking student opinion.
“We are trying to understand the full perspective of the student experience at Carolina,” Jutha said.
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4 comments
The University tries to come up with a reasonable solution to a tough situation, and it gets bashed by out-of-touch residence hall governors? 250 first-years out of 4,000? Stigmatize South Campus?
If upperclassmen have a chance of getting a decent dorm as a sophomore or junior then I think they would be much more inclined to live on campus after their first-year. Is it so horrible to reward seniority? South Campus already is stigmatized in many people’s minds, and that is a large part of the problem (not to mention you have to walk forever to get anywhere). Because of these reserved beds there are 250 upperclassmen faced with the choice of moving off campus or living on South Campus for a second year. I would have never made the decision to live on South Campus for two years.
If this decision can help keep tuition just that much lower or keep my class size smaller, I am totally for it. In tough time you have to make tough decisions, and there should be no reason they everyone has to moan about every little decision. Can we please consider what is best for the University as a whole and not your pet niche?
To side with RHA—I agree that this will mess with the diversity in our residence halls. How will they address the learning communities? There is a community specifically for sophomores on South Campus—will that move to a North Campus hall? And learning communities on North Campus contain some freshmen as well. Will they have to re-arrange all the learning communities? Some residence halls are defined by their communities…also, South Campus is known to be a bit rowdy. I think if a student wants to be away from that type of environment and closer to classes and academic buildings and a more ‘peaceful’ environment, they should have that choice. Also, I know MANY upperclassman who prefer their own rooms, and that is only an option on South Campus (not including apartments—and do those count as South Campus in this case?? Confusing. If apartments are included in this, upperclassmen won’t stand for that at all!). Just hang around HJ and see how many upperclassmen live there, and in Craige and E-haus. It’s a notable number.
On the other hand, many universities have a policy similar to this. I think this separation will work only if there is a valid point of education to be gained for the freshmen, for example, if it will be easier for the Housing Staff and the University to offer academic and social initiatives to help the new students integrate into university life better, then ok, maybe there’s an advantage there. And I can’t be too sure that the freshmen living on North Campus are offering sooo much of our ‘wisdom’ to the youngsters haha, seriously. Maybe a few are but I don’t think that’s a strong enough point…
As for the 400-something empty beds on campus, that really sounds like a Housing logistical/unavoidable problem. The application always says your choices aren’t guaranteed. That’s why we get 2nd and 3rd preferences. If people don’t get their first choice, they should be able to get their 2nd or 3rd, and if they aren’t happy with those and decide to leave for an off-campus location, there’s really not much that can be done about that. Some places are more popular than others, but either way housing is limited.
Whatever happens, I don’t think it will be that bad, but I honestly think the system we have now is working well enough. Not perfect, but there will be flaws with any new procedure.
Also, aren’t they supposed to be called FIRST-YEARS? Inclusiveness!
Is this really an issue of who lives where or is it an issue of housing overestimating the number of students who would want to stay on campus? I remember when they first started building the apartments on south campus and they actually believed that it would help keep all students on campus. It is normal for students to live off campus and gain more independence as they progress. Maybe housing should do a better job of predicting the number of people who want to live on campus. Just a thought!!
Moving upperclassmen to NC is no way near the best idea to keep them on campus. What part of the phrase hall style bathrooms makes a 22 year old student want to stay up there when they can easily get an apartment with their own quarters?
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