By Dan FletcherThe Daily Northwestern
Northwestern is in the initial stages of making a master plan for undergraduate housing, said Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis.
He said he hopes the effort will eventually develop into a comprehensive outline for the next 20 to 30 years. The plan includes new strategies for housing.
Banis said one idea is to build dorms with walls and layouts that can change in response to student needs. Another is to look at the possibility of developing apartment-style housing for over-21 students.
“We always thought of rooms as just a place for students to sleep,” he said. “Now we recognize that they are really a part of student lifestyles.”
Banis sent out a survey last week about campus housing after working with focus groups beginning in the fall. He said the university has also commissioned an outside audit of each dorm, including a study of utility use in each building to make sure they are as environmentally sustainable as possible.
“Sustainability is a big issue around campus, and we always want to make sure we’re kind to Mother Earth,” he said.
However, Communication junior Alexandra Garcia said she hopes the university doesn’t forget underclassmen.
“A new dorm shouldn’t end up being something like Kemper Hall, which ends up being a bit pricier,” she said. “It shouldn’t be something that only upperclassman can get into and afford.”
Communication sophomore Michelle Benard said the university could make improvements within existing dorms as well.
“Wireless internet access and cable television would go a long way,” she said. “I think we’re one of the few colleges without cable.”
The residential housing study is just part of NU’s initiative to improve facilities around campus. University President Henry Bienen said a new music building is still in the works. In the past, he has evaluated the music building as “terrible,” but said the university wants to secure a lead donor before beginning construction.
“It’s irresponsible for me not to try hard to see if we can get outside financial support,” he said. “Once we build the building, it’s much tougher to (get donors).”
While Bienen said he has had several talks with potential donors, he said the building will eventually be built with or without them.
“It’ll get built despite some of the silly things that music students say, like we don’t love them,” he said. “It’s going to get built because it’s an important thing to do for the university.”
Bienen said the university is considering additional construction projects to relieve space issues for NU faculty. Adding a floor to Crowe Hall and expanding Annenberg Hall are more immediate possibilities, he said.
“(The Crowe addition) will help us relieve some space issues in the humanities,” he said, adding that other departments like history and political science are still in need of room.
Bienen said the university is looking into the possibility of adding another floor to Annenberg in order to give SESP more room.
“I think the preliminary answer I got is that it probably won’t work, which is too bad,” he said. “The school of education could definitely use another floor, and it’s under the height restrictions.”
The way Annenberg was built makes it expensive to expand upwards, Bienen said, but the university is still looking for a final answer.
Reach Dan Fletcher at [email protected].
