A recent student-organized report that recommended freshman-concentrated housing seems vaguely familiar to one that students worked on two years ago, some say.
An Undergraduate Assembly Steering subcommittee met with top administrators last week to suggest increasing the percentage of freshman rooms in several college houses -- a proposal almost identical to one that the UA passed two years ago, according to UA Vice Chairman and College senior Zack Rosenblum.
Officials did make changes to the housing system -- like creating freshman-only residential programs -- at the time. But according to Rosenblum, they were not enough.
College House system Director Phil Nichols was "willing to expand the freshman-experience [residential program] upon demand, but that was never made known to anyone," Rosenblum said. "He said it to [the UA] and never acted on it."
Nichols said that while the College House system does need some improvement, the adjustments made two years ago were adequate at the time.
"We worked with the UA to create the freshman-experience [residential program] and changed some things in the housing brochure," Nichols said. "They told us that was great."
But last week's recommendations again said that there is need for changes in the system.
Last week's proposal suggested increasing the number of freshman-only rooms in the Quadrangle, Hill House and Kings Court/English House, while eliminating freshman rooms in several other college houses.
Both last week's recommendations and those made two years ago were based on surveys that showed that the student body favored freshman-concentrated housing.
"The survey results were similar," Rosenblum said. "The recommendations are very similar."
He added that he has high hopes of seeing action this time around.
According to Provost Ron Daniels, the consultation to occur in the next few months will be vital in determining what mixture of housing systems will be implemented.
"I will, by the end of the semester ... make a recommendation" to President Amy Gutmann, Daniels said.
Nichols also emphasized the need to continue researching the best way to structure the College House system.
"We've been criticized for really wanting to study this instead of acting right away," Nichols said.
He plans to spend the rest of the semester consulting with a variety of groups in an attempt to gain a greater idea of which way the system should be heading. Groups that will be involved include house deans, peer institutions, alumni, student groups, trustees and the 11 college house councils.
The College House system was created eight years ago with the goal of fostering a sense of community on campus.
"The UA's proposal is a 180-degree turn from that vision," Nichols said. "Because this vision was the consensus of the University, obviously we have to consult with a lot of people" before abandoning it.
