Residential plan makes student leaders wary

Some student leaders claimed they had input in the planning stages, but not in implementation. Amid confusion and concerns over new residential plans calling for the creation of 12 college houses by next fall, student leaders involved in drafting the plan said they have reservations about the program. Residential Advisory Board Chairperson Roshini Thayaparan and 21st Century Project Undergraduate Advisory Board Chairperson Rachael Goldfarb, both College juniors, sat on the committee that drafted the report calling for the new system. But Thayaparan told the Undergraduate Assembly Sunday that the two were not involved in the committee's work over the summer when the recommendations were converted into a the working plan of action which the University has agreed to implement. Associate Vice Provost for Campus Services Larry Moneta said the summer planning consisted mostly of technical details. "Over the summer we did the things that a large committee couldn't accomplish," Moneta said. "We needed a handful of technicians to get this done." Student input -- gathered through the College House Planning Board, a consulting report by the Biddison Hier firm and Goldfarb and Thayaparan's suggestions -- was important in the planning stages, he added. "Fundamentally we are implementing the report that they both had a part in writing," said Art History Professor David Brownlee, who authored the report. "The changes made over the summer were driven by budget concerns, but they don't change the nature of the college house program." Undergraduate Assembly members at Sunday's meeting said Thayaparan was extremely unclear about how much input RAB had in the report. UA member Andrew Ross, a College and Wharton junior said Thayaparan first implied that RAB had very little input, but then seemed to retract some of her initial statements. RAB and the 21st Century Project UAB were the only two student groups represented on the Brownlee report's planning committee. Neither group has agreed to completely support the plans. Goldfarb said that while the 21st Century Project UAB approves of the framework of the plan, certain parts of it make some members "nervous." And Thayaparan said RAB has not yet taken a formal position on the plan because all the details are not clear. Both Goldfarb and Thayaparan said they do not know much about the details or actual implementation of the plan. "There is a lot of confusion about the plan because nothing is set in stone, and not a lot of people know what's going on and I'm one of the people who don't," Thayaparan said. Brownlee said recent turmoil in Provost Stanley Chodorow's office may have prevented the two groups from getting as much information as they should have. Moneta, who also worked on the plan, said he is not surprised by the confusion and lack of consensus about a plan this complex and far-reaching. "I see it as not a problem but an inevitability with a organizational and academic change as complex as this," Moneta said. "There are these pre-existing bodies like RAB and the 21st Century Project UAB bodies all trying to figure out how to connect and play a role." But Moneta did express concern that the two undergraduates who played the biggest role in drafting the plan are unsure about its details and unsupportive of some of its contents. "I am extremely concerned that our most active students have some reservations, but again I am not surprised, because we are moving very quickly through the implementation phase," he said. UA Chairperson Noah Bilenker said the UA was also concerned by Thayaparan's comments. "They were in on the initial planning, and then they were not in on the final planning, and now they are being asked to mobilize student support for the program," Bilenker said. The College junior added that more student input would have prevented many of the complaints students now have about the plan. Director of Academic Programs and Residence Life Chris Dennis said continued student input is needed, since much of the implementation details have not been set. He added that there are roles that need to be filled by RAB and the 21st Century Project UAB. "RAB should be more involved in how the new house councils and house structures develop -- particularly in houses like the high rises that don't have these structures," Dennis said. "The 21st Century Project UAB group might especially be interested in looking at how systemic programs can use the new vehicle of the college house system," he added. Administrators and faculty members working on the implementation of new residential plans met with Thayaparan and Goldfarb late last night to discuss their concerns and will hold another meeting Friday.

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