If the College's ambitious budget plan for summer renovations passes in late May, Topliff Hall will undergo cosmetic surgery, Residential Operations Director Woody Eckels said.
The College may also rewire some of the residence halls' computer and phone systems and build an apartment onto Cutter-Shabazz Hall, in addition to making the changes to the East Wheelock cluster in accordance with the Dartmouth Experience plan.
The decision to renovate Topliff was based upon a facilities study conducted more than a year ago by an outside party, in addition to the College's own analysis of living areas on campus, Eckels said.
Eckels said the plan for renovation this summer is more than the College would normally attempt to accomplish.
"It's very ambitious," he said. "It's probably more work than we would do in a summer."
Topliff would undergo the most construction, including the installation of carpeting in students' rooms, new carpeting in the hallways and a new sprinkler system, Eckels said.
"The larger bathroom on each floor will be completely gutted," he said.
The double showers in the larger bathrooms would be split up into single showers, Eckels said.
"Everything in Topliff will get a new coat of paint," he said, in the common dormitory color, "driftwood."
The College will replace the furniture in the common areas and will add a ramp to the back door of the basement lounge, he said.
The ramp will allow handicapped people more access to the building, but they will still not have access to the upper floors, Eckels said.
Eckels said the time frame for the work is not long, since "these projects start on June 11, and they have to be done by the last week of August."
Students living in Topliff said the renovations are sorely needed.
Eran Bendavid '97, who has lived in Topliff all three years at Dartmouth, reacted strongly to the possibility of Topliff's renovation.
When asked if renovation is needed, he responded, "Oh my God, yes, no questions about it."
"This place is probably the oldest and has the least perks of all the dorms on campus," he said.
"Half of the showers don't work," he continued, noting "things that broke my freshman year are still broken."
Michael Lepene '99, a resident of Topliff, said he thinks Topliff is the right candidate for a renovation project.
"Yeah, I definitely think it's needed, especially the bathrooms."
He said the new ramp is a "good idea," and added, "There are a lot of social events in Topliff lounge."
Misong Kim '97 voiced complaints about the plumbing.
"The plumbing is really bad here," Kim said. "In the women's bathroom on the third floor, the toilets are always clogged."
She said the new carpeting was necessary.
"The rooms are not rooms without carpeting ... you can't sit down on the floor," she said. "Carpeting would be nice."
Students also mentioned that Topliff would be a more desirable place to live after it undergoes the proposed renovations.
Lepene said Topliff has a "great location," and renovations would make it more desirable to students.
Also waiting on the passage of the summer construction budget is the task of replacing telephone and computer data wiring, a project begun in 1992.
"Starting in 1992, the College has known that AppleTalk is just not going to do it," Eckels said.
New Hampshire Hall, the Fayerweather cluster, Russell-Sage Hall, Butterfield Hall and the Choates cluster are already wired with Ethernet, which was installed in previous renovations, he said.
Ethernet is a wiring system that allows data to be transferred faster than with AppleTalk.
North Massachusetts Hall, Richardson Hall, the RipWoodSmith cluster and the River cluster are the targets of this summer's conversion from AppleTalk to Ethernet.
Another tentative project is an addition to the south end of Cutter-Shabazz Hall, Eckels said.
The space will provide an apartment for one of the Thurgood Marshall Fellows, he said.
In addition to these changes, the East Wheelock cluster and the faculty advisor residence next door will undergo construction to prepare for the cluster's new role as the "supercluster" on campus.
