After last year's on-campus housing crunch, it is a relief to see students' need for dormitories and the dormitories' need for students breaking even. Though it came largely at the expense of the endearing Saunders Inn, which closed over the summer, we applaud the decisions and changes in off-campus policy that allowed the Office of Residential Life to virtually eliminate temporary housing. Greater availability of lounge space and less disruption for students fosters a better sense of stable community on campus, one of ResLife's primary tasks.
With the University's eye on expanding enrollment, ResLife's plans to update and reorganize select dorm buildings are also encouraging. The completed renovations to New Pembroke have been met with student approval, and we hope for the same result from upcoming projects. Though it would be sad to see Perkins Hall — with all its auspicious match-making mystery — lose its status as a first-year dorm, the proposed changes to Metcalf and Miller halls could have a significant positive effect on the first-year experience. Consolidating first-year communities will not only increase student safety, but allow for a more contained social space with fewer first-years traveling between remotely located dorms. Of course, reassigning dorm layouts alone will not automatically produce a more tight-knit first-year class, so serious consideration must be given to the organization of units. And although the Residential Peer Leader program is strong, it may take even further improvements to replicate the kind of bonding that tends to happen in smaller dorms.
The first-years are not the only ones who stand to gain from projected renovations — the Graduate Center is often only grudgingly accepted by students. Giving it the serious attention it deserves will allow the University to avoid a divide in campus life between underclassmen and older students who may be itching to get off campus for better living conditions.
As the Corporation gives consideration to each of these undertakings, we hope it will consider the dramatic effect housing can have on students' experiences. According to Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining services, ResLife is "broad in its consultation with students," and we hope the Corporation will take seriously the proposals offered by ResLife on behalf of the Residential Council and the Undergraduate Council of Students.
Brown prides itself on fostering collegial community and this happens most often in informal settings. For at least nine months of the year, students call this place home, and making living conditions more inviting should be a high priority. Though we will not be here to witness the completion of these residential housing projects, we are pleased to encourage their inception for the sake of future generations of students.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
