SMC begins plans for on-campus apartments
By ALLISON ROCHE
News Writer
Saint Mary's students hoping to live in new on-campus apartments by their senior year may only be setting themselves up for disappointment.
At the Nov. 4 Board of Governance meeting, Linda Timm, vice president of Student Affairs, speculated that senior on-campus apartments would be a part of the Saint Mary's campus within 18 months. Three months later, the College is still in the very preliminary stages of planning their construction.
Four different floor plan designs are in consideration, but a starting date for construction has not yet been identified. The cost of construction is affected by which floor plan is chosen and the needed materials, factors which are still undetermined, College officials said.
"We haven't defined the costs yet, which will determine how much financing is necessary," said John Hollenkamp, interim vice president of finance and administration.
Finances are not the only reason for the apartments' slow progress, according to Hollenkamp. He pointed out that more attention to detail is needed in planning on-campus apartments as opposed to another residence hall in order to make it an attractive option to students.
Once construction begins, the apartments should be completed within nine to 12 months, meaning many current students will not see the final product while in school.
"I think on-campus apartments are a great idea that interests a lot of students," said sophomore Kate Weiss. "But at the rate things are going, it makes me doubt that I will even see what they look like before I graduate. That's kind of disappointing."
A group of students will be meeting with an architect today to lend their perspective to the planning of the apartments. Michelle Russell, director of Residence Life, is hoping that student feedback will help to determine details such as the size of the structure and what features should be included in the apartments.
"The idea is, what is it that attracts students off-campus? The services it provides? The freedom gained? What is it?" asked Russell.
Many students point to factors such as greater freedom and responsibility, lower housing costs and no longer having to eat dining hall food as their motivation for moving off-campus.
Emily Blaha, a senior off-campus student, thinks the students who want to live off- campus will still choose to do so, despite the availability of on-campus apartments.
"Truthfully, most people go off-campus to party," said Blaha. "The point is to get away from the rules and regulations of on-campus life."
Russell said it is still too early to comment on what regulations would come with living in the on-campus apartments.
"Some sort of policy would be needed, but it would be structured around what is most appropriate for senior living," she said.
Despite the rules that would come with living on campus, other students think apartments would be a favorable option, especially if they are concerned about the safety of being away from campus or if they do not own a car.
"As a senior, it would have been a nice place to live. You would have all of the advantages of being on-campus, plus the freedom of [living] off campus," said Catherine Ward, a senior Holy Cross Hall resident.
All News Stories for Wednesday, February 5, 2003
