Residents get a piece of the commuter cake

Posted by admin on Mar 8, 2006 in News | 0 comments

Alison Madden, Staff Reporter

Come Fall 2006, the collegiums will not be used solely by TWU’s large commuter population. The launch of a pilot program by Community Life will give residents special access to the West Coast Collegium.
This program is the outcome of interest produced by resident students over the years who wanted to see the collegia space better employed.

“The collegiums are a really nice space on campus that is not being utilized to the extent that they could be,” said Kelvin Gartly, Assistant Director of Community Life, Resident Programs.

The West Coast and Marlie Snider Collegiums were built in 2000 and 2001 to give the commuters a home away from home on campus, and as a result, they are some of the newer and nicer buildings on campus.
“The resident housing is getting run down,” explained Gartly. “The collegium would offer a nice space for the residents to use besides their lounges and dorms.”

Currently, the hours of operation for the collegiums is 7am to 7pm Monday through Thursday and 7am to 5pm on Friday. The collegiums are unused during weeknights and weekends.

In a survey that was sent two weeks ago, residents were asked if they would be interested in using the collegiums. Of the 214 students who completed the survey, 86% expressed a strong desire to use the collegium.
In the pilot program, the collegium would be open to residents from 8pm to midnight on weeknights and on weekends from 6pm to midnight.

“The resident’s main interest for use of the collegium is a relaxed atmosphere with increased co-ed interaction,” explained Sheldon Loeppky, Dean of Students and Director of Community Life.
However, some commuters have voiced their discontentment with the pilot program.

“I totally disagree with the way this was handled because the commuter population was never consulted about this travesty,” said Bethany Abbuhl, Community Life Assistant for the Marlie Snider Collegium.
No information was given to commuters or those who help to run the Collegium Project about the possibility that the collegiums would be open for the residents use after hours.

“This is something we weren’t asked, but it was mandated by the Administration,” said Glenn Hanson, the Assistant Director of Community Life for Commuter Programs. “A decision was made at the Vice President’s level.”

Many have voiced concerns that the cleanliness and the atmosphere of the collegiums would be disturbed by the resident use.

“I understand their views because for the last six years it has been their exclusive space,” Hanson sympathizes. “They have taken ownership of their space.”

“We are committed to keeping the infrastructure of the collegiums the same,” said Loeppky. “We are here to protect the primary reasons why the facilities were built.”

Hanson said he does not want “the educational edge to be lost in the pilot project.” He added, “I don’t want to see a couple necking in here.”

To ensure this, there will be similar programs that are in place in the collegiums: such as Resident Collegium Assistants, a covenant, rules and regulations, and a membership fee.

When residents were asked if they would be willing to pay a $60 membership fee each semester, the desire of the students dropped down to 52% expressing “somewhat” or “very little” response and only 17% expressed “quite a bit” of interest.

In a letter to the Mars’ Hill last year, Norman Van Eeden Petersman, proposed a discussion of the possibility of residents using the collegiums.

In response to the commuter’s concerns about the sanctity of the collegium Van Eeden Petersman pointed out that the new upper Douglas Lounge is well taken care of and looked after by the male residents, adding, “We’re not four years old.”

“I anticipate that resident students will become collegium members and show a great respect for social and physical space,” said Hanson. “I want to give this the best shot we can.”