By Susan matthews
The Dartmouth Staff
Throughout the Fall term, Dartmouth will continue to expand campus housing options for undergraduates, renovate residential buildings and expand alternative residential programs.
After completing renovations on Hitchcock Hall last winter, the College began construction on New Hampshire Hall in March, and currently only the floors and exterior brick walls of the original building remain.
The remodeled residence hall will be designed to fit to upperclassmen needs, according to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman. It will provide more suites and single occupancy rooms, as opposed to the double and triple occupancy rooms of the former structure.
Redman said the Office of Residential Life is working to convert upperclassmen residences into apartment-style complexes, but added that renovations are proceeding slowly.
"It will happen over time," Redman said.
While inclusion of accessible lounges and study spaces were key factors in designing freshman residential clusters Fahey-McLane and McLaughlin, Redman said that similar community spaces are not as prominent in the upperclassmen dorms.
"They don't need a lot of lounge space because they hang out elsewhere," Redman said, although freshmen need "opportunities for large groups and small groups to come together."
Despite Redman's efforts, some students preferred certain aspects of the original dormitories that have been lost in the renovation.
Rufaro Makanda '10, who lived in Hitchcock last Winter and Spring terms, said she enjoyed living in the new dorm, but felt that some of the building's character was lost in the new design. Makanda had stayed in Hitchcock before it was renovated while visiting Dartmouth for Dimensions, and remembered the dormitory as "a classic college building."
"No character was preserved at all when they rebuilt it," she said.
Last Fall term, Makanda lived in a triple in New Hampshire residence hall, before the building was renovated.
"[I] used to love the fact that we were staying in the very same room as students in the '70's," she said.
"We could feel the history and the culture." Makanda added.
In contrast, Makanda said she "didn't feel any Dartmouth character whatsoever" in the renovated Hitchcock building.
Next in line for renovation are the three residential buildings on Massachusetts Row, although construction will not begin until the fall of 2010 at the earliest because these buildings house more than twice as many students as either Hitchcock, or New Hamp and ORL must find additional housing space to make up for the extra loss of beds.
Redman said he must decide on how to design the new building interiors, determine where the students who would normally be housed in these buildings could find space and relocate his own office before construction can begin.
When the Massachusetts Row project is completed, work will begin on renovating, and possibly replacing, the Choates and River residential clusters, although Redman said this project will likely be delayed until after the capital campaign is completed, as a result of budget constraints.
Redman is also working on smaller projects, such as finishing the Asian Studies Center, revamping the Cutter-Shabazz hall's basement, renovating the bathrooms in Richardson Hall and adjusting sprinkler systems in the River cluster. Additionally, North Hall, La Casa and Delta Delta Delta sorority will all undergo major renovations in the next few years.
In addition to changing the physical aspects of residential halls, Redman is expanding residential options with the new Sustainable House, the new inter-faith floor and continuing the gender-neutral program, which began in Fall 2007.
There is a designated gender-neutral floor in McLane residence hall, where rooms may be occupied by students of both sexes, and residents participate in programming discussing gender issues. Other gender-neutral suites are located in various residence halls, but residents of these rooms do not participate in programming.
"I think [gender neutral housing] is being received well by both the campus and the students that are choosing to live there," Redman said. "They have found a place to explore gender and do some outreach."
Although the program will not expand this year, Redman said he is optimistic about its future.
The two new programs were sparked by student interest and are primarily planned and directed by students.
"[If] there's a group of students that are interested in the same thing, that experience can be enhanced by living together," Redman said.
North Hall, which is scheduled for eventual renovation, will serve as the sustainable residence hall this year.
Redman said he envisions that North Hall will soon be "a residential living laboratory" where students can "explore and work on how to make the building more sustainable."
"It's kind of like creating a think tank." Redman said. He added that sustainability efforts can include producing and consuming sustainable food, developing sustainable insulation techniques, and creating renovation plans that will increase the hall's sustainablity.
Redman also said he is encouraging the inter-faith floor to expand its programming this term. This year, residents of the inter-faith floor will attend weekly meetings to discuss faith, and additional programs are in the planning stages.