Arts hub will not erase 'Wa, Tilghman vows

University officials presented an updated 10-year campus plan and defended their recent decision to discontinue Early Decision at this year's first meeting of the Council of Princeton University Community (CPUC).

The Wawa convenience store will be relocated to make room for the arts neighborhood, but President Tilghman assured students that the store would still be within easy reach. "[The] Wa is eternal," she said.

The 10-year plan calls for construction on the eastern and southern parts of campus.

"The southern part of campus is the University's new front," Neil Kittredge, an associate partner at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP (BBB), said. The company is entrusted with developing the 10-year plan, which will be implemented in 2008.

According to a recent BBB survey, more than two-thirds of all incoming campus traffic arrives from the south through Alexander Street and Washington Road. To accommodate this traffic, Kittredge said that a new parking lot would be constructed east of Princeton Stadium.

In addition to this lot, construction in the southern section will also include the new headquarters for neuroscience program, and psychology department, the new chemistry building and the new creative and performing arts neighborhood.

Kittredge said the eastern section of campus will be heavily renovated as well, since the University plans to construct a new Operations Research and Finance Engineering building and expand some of the engineering facilities.

To better integrate the expansion east of Washington Road with the rest of campus, the University plans to construct a pedestrian walkway connecting Carl Icahn Laboratory and Jadwin Gymnasium.

"Drivers tend to regard Washington Road, especially as it goes downhill towards Lake Carnegie, as a high-speed route," Kittredge said. "We wanted to make sure that pedestrians would be able to cross Washington Road safely."

Early Decision

Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye, who was also at the meeting, fielded questions about the University's recent decision to abandon Early Decision. Rapelye defended the move, explaining that Early Decision was not only unfair to minorities and the socioeconomically disadvantaged, but also that the new process could improve the overall quality of admitted students.

"Adopting the one-step process would allow the University to see the entire applicant pool at the same time and pick only the best from that group," she said.

Rapelye also said it is not clear how other elite universities will respond to the move, but the University will stick by its decision regardless.

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"We were in the strongest position to do this, and we knew we wanted to do it," she said. "Even if no one follows, it will be better to be on Harvard's side."