ULC resolution prompts housing changes

Responding to a proposal drafted by the Undergraduate Life Council last December, the Housing Department has begun the process of improving and adding to existing facilities in upperclass dormitories, especially those buildings not slated for full-scale renovations within the next several years.

In the fall, ULC members Xiuhui Lim '05 and Emily Somerville '06 conducted an informal survey of student concerns about housing and compiled the results in a Housing Improvement Resolution. Lim said student concerns centered on a few main issues, including the lack of sufficient kitchen, laundry and computer facilities within the older dormitories. Students also expressed a desire for the University to provide bookshelves and additional lighting for each room.

The current housing situation is not fair to "students who aren't that well off," Lim said. "Not everyone can afford three floor lamps and two bookcases [for their room] and then throw them out at the end of the year."

Former ULC chair William Robinson '04 echoed Lim's statement. "The major goal [of this project]," he said, "is to prevent a two-tier housing system" where students living in newly renovated dorms have significantly better resources than their peers living just a few buildings away.

Both Lim and Robinson praised the Housing Department for its prompt response to the ULC's suggestions. Just one week after the USG passed the Housing Improvement Resolution, the Housing Department had already replaced most toilet stall curtains in the bathrooms of the 'junior slums' with doors.

"Housing actually used [our resolution] as an asset for them," Robinson said. "They needed student support so the administration would give these concerns full weight."

Previously, Robinson said, the Housing Department had primarily focused on improving facilities during full-scale renovations of buildings. The Housing Improvement Resolution has "changed that mentality" and encouraged the Housing officials to instead "find out where the biggest needs are" and respond quickly.

To date, according to a memo drafted by Housing Department director Tom Miller, OIT has installed a computer cluster in the basement of 1901, and the Maintenance Department has identified two storage facilities it plans to convert to laundry rooms. Further improvements to lighting and kitchen facilities are expected to follow, and the University, in conjunction with Building Services and the Princeton Environmental Oversight Committee, will revamp its recycling system.

ULC member Lim said students should be optimistic about the changes still to come. "Lots of people complain about housing, but they don't realize that something can be done," she said.