When Andrew Schwartz '07 agreed to store boxes for three of his friends over the summer, he ended up with more than he bargained for - 15 boxes, one futon and six trips to his house in Smithfield, R.I., to be exact.
Schwartz's situation is not uncommon at Brown, and it became more common last year when the University stopped allowing students to store their belongings on campus during summer months. Now, a group of Undergraduate Council of Students representatives is hoping to tackle the issue of storage and formulate ideas for a better storage system.
UCS Representative Ben Creo '07 presented the proposal for the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Student Storage at last week's UCS meeting, and UCS will vote on the measure tonight. Creo, who will chair the committee, said UCS representatives expect the proposal to pass unanimously.
UCS Representatives Nicholas Monu '06 and Robert Kaufman '08 will be vice chairs for the committee, and UCS Representative Brian Bidadi '06 will also serve on the committee, along with one to three other members. Committee members will work with Brown Student Agencies and University administrators to determine a feasible storage system that is in the students' best interest, Creo said. Part of this process will involve collecting data on the number of students who used storage companies over the summer and what the costs are to students, he said.
While the variety of avenues students chose in storing their belongings last year makes accurate cost averages difficult to determine - many students did not use storage at all, and many of those that did also left boxes at friends' houses. Some students spent as much as $500 to $700 last year, Creo said.
Molly Meadows '07, who lives in California and used the Brown-preferred Campus Shipping and Storage last summer, said everything went smoothly in terms of retrieving her boxes. But the storage was expensive - she estimated that she spent $300 on storage.
"If you look at the storage rates from last year, it was just unacceptable. It was over $30 to store one box (with Campus Shipping and Storage) - that's too much to ask of students," Bidadi said.
The committee hopes to alleviate that financial burden, even if free on-campus storage is not reinstated, Creo said. While the best scenario would be complete reinstatement of free on-campus storage, there are other actions the University could take to improve the current storage system, he said.
"It was cut abruptly, which is a mistake," Bidadi said. "But I think (storage) can exist in some form at Brown."
Bidadi suggested that the University might provide storage to certain groups, such as program houses. Other possible changes to the current storage system include Brown subsidizing a preferred outside storage company or providing students with vouchers for outside companies, he said. The committee proposal also includes an idea for "Internet-based alternatives," such as an online marketplace where students could discuss and compare storage alternatives.
Last year, the University provided $4,000 to Brown Student Agencies to promote and raise awareness of Brown's preferred storage company, Campus Shipping and Storage, Creo said. The University chose this company because of its competitive rates and experience with peer institutions, including Harvard and Tufts universities. Students were free to choose which storage company to use, or to not use a storage company at all.
Peter Wu '07 avoided storage costs by leaving all of his belongings with a friend who attends RISD and lives off-campus. But he is worried about what he will do in the future. After only one year, Wu, who lives in Taiwan, had accumulated 10 boxes of belongings, including art supplies. Wu said he does not know what he'll do with all of his belongings at the end of his four years at Brown.
"It's going to be a really big problem," he said.
Wu said he is also not sure whether he'll be able to store boxes at his friend's house next summer. While on-campus storage would not solve the problem of finding a place for his things after Brown, he believes it would be a help to him for the next two years.
In the past, students were allowed to store several boxes on campus for free, and many dorm basements were used for storage.
But liability and quality control issues led the administration to axe the service last April, Bidadi said.
"The administration thought that it was too expensive and too risky as far as liability to store students' stuff over the summer," he said, adding that a number of students stored expensive items such as laptops.
Creo said the University might be able to decrease liability risks if administrators underwrote money to BSA for coordinating storage. The Committee also plans to inspect all possible storage spaces and inspect for safety and quality control problems and possible improvements.
"We think there are very feasible and simple solutions that either were not implemented or not properly implemented in the past," Creo said.
Even if the University does not return to cost-free campus storage, on-campus storage has other advantages, Creo said. One inconvenience of outside storage companies is their narrow time slots for dropping off and picking up boxes, he said. If the University stored boxes, students would have a wider time frame for box drop-off and pick-up, and boxes could be collected and distributed from more places on campus, he said.
Conserving time is especially important because dealing with storage comes during finals, when students are already under a lot of stress, Creo said.
"It's not only a financial burden, but there's also a mental strain going on at the time," he said.
Student feedback to UCS regarding Campus Shipping and Storage was mixed, Creo said, but he noted that was true for most outside storage services.
The proposal to form the ad hoc committee lays out a timeframe for the committee's actions. The committee plans to review data, talk with students, brainstorm effective solutions and have solutions "on the table" by the end of this semester, Creo said. Next semester, the Committee's focus will shift to advocating for the proposed solutions.
Committee members sent out informational e-mails to administrators late last week and so far have received a preliminary response from Interim Dean for Campus Life Margaret Klawunn, who wrote, "I'll look forward to working with your committee on the issue."
Bidadi said this is an issue he believes in strongly.
"My view on student storage is that it's a necessity and not a privilege," he said.
The committee plans to work quickly and have solutions in place by the end of second semester, Creo said.
This is good news for Schwartz, who said last year he had to make one of his six drives to Smithfield with so much stuff packed in his car that he couldn't see at all out the passenger side window.
In addition to safety concerns, not knowing how to deal with too many boxes can lead to fighting among friends. Schwartz said storing boxes for friends created difficulties with trying to coordinate when and how they would get their boxes back.
"I'd love to see (on-campus storage) back, just because while I'm willing to store people's stuff, it definitely creates sort of unneeded tensions among friends," he said.
As for the upcoming summer, "I'd take some stuff again," Schwartz said, "but probably two carfuls - not six."
