The new Group Residence for Environmental Engagement at Northwestern will be located in the Transfer House next year at 2251 Sheridan Road, housing officials announced Friday.
GREEN will be an exclusive-use living unit similar in structure to Phi Mu Alpha and Sigma Alpha Iota, Northwestern’s two music-oriented residences, said Mark D’Arienzo, director of undergraduate housing. It will house about 25 upperclassmen and 25 freshmen, said Weinberg junior Jesse Sleamaker, co-chairman of Students for Ecological and Environmental Development and a DAILY columnist.
D’Arienzo said he hoped the house would be a starting point for “decreasing our carbon footprint.”
The choice to use the Transfer House was in no way a reflection of the house’s standing in the NU community, D’Arienzo said.
But Nick Johnson, a transfer student and current resident, said next year’s transfer students will miss out on the sense of community created by the Transfer House.
“A lot of us are upperclassmen, so we come to a place not knowing anyone and we’re placed in a group of people who are all in the same situation,” the Weinberg junior said. “It’s kind of unfortunate that they won’t have another place like this, though what they’re doing is a good thing, regardless.”
There will not be another house for transfer students next year, D’Arienzo said.
“If there’s space for transfer students (in GREEN), I want to offer it as an option to transfer students who are into that sort of lifestyle,” he said.
It is unlikely that GREEN will be in the Transfer House after next year, said Sleamaker.
“There’s been some talk about renovating (another) building to make it more green,” the Weinberg junior said.
Major changes to the GREEN building itself, such as solar panels, will not take place next year, Sleamaker said. However, residents will be able to submit requests for environmentally friendly items such as compact fluorescent light bulbs, low-flow shower heads and motion sensors.
