Available rooms surface for all wait-listed juniors this summer

Sometimes bad luck can change when you least expect it, as some juniors wait-listed after last year's room draw recently discovered.

About 85 lucky members of the Class of '05 were assigned rooms during the summer in 1903 Hall — one of the campus's more desirable dorms, with its courtyard lawn, ivy-covered walls and prime location. The dorm had originally been scheduled for renovation this year.

"I was actually really happy," said Cynthia Levine '05, who was on the wait list before being given a double in 1903 Hall. "It's pretty central."

The postponed renovations to 1903 Hall, originally slated for the next 15 months, will be condensed into two months of work next summer, said Michael McKay, vice president of facilities. Changes will include a new sprinkler system, though he said the building meets current fire safety requirements.

The University decided to reopen 1903 Hall because of an upperclass housing shortage. A few students who were wait-listed last year were placed in the Forbes Annex and in a suite in Hibben Hall near Carnegie Lake, but making use of even these alternatives would not have provided all students with housing this year, undergraduate housing coordinator Adam Rockman said.

1903 Hall — which overlooks Prospect Gardens and the Princeton Art Museum — is located next to Cuyler Hall in the middle of campus, providing quick access to Frist Campus Center, Prospect Avenue and classes. About 50 graduate students will also live in the dorm, Rockman said.

USG vice president Jacqui Perlman '05 said she campaigned to reopen the dorm last spring.

"I took it on as a personal project to find solutions, got the USG Senate support, and had a number of conversations with Adam Rockman and President Tilghman," Perlman said. "She said that if it turned out that not every student would get housing, 1903 would be opened."

"We don't guarantee housing for juniors and seniors, but historically and traditionally we've done everything we can to accommodate them," said Lisa DePaul, assistant housing director. "And we've always managed to provide housing."

The wait list this year, comprising about 90 students, was not abnormally large, Rockman said. However, about 20 fewer students chose to study abroad than in previous years, he said.

"It may not seem like a significant number," Rockman said. "But it's hard when we're trying to find 20 beds for 20 students."

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the University does not expect comparable housing shortages in the future, DePaul said. A new dorm on Poe Field due to open next fall will provide additional space.

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Levine seemed pleased with the building even without its renovations.

"I have a one-room double, but it's pretty spacious," she said. "I knew I'd be placed somewhere, but I thought probably it would be in the slums — not here."