Seniority rules McMillan
New housing policy will separate upperclassmen
February 8, 2007
In a joint decision between Community Life and the Conference and Housing services, changes have been made to junior and senior housing. As of this upcoming fall, Robson housing will be specifically for junior students, while McMillan will be reserved for the senior class.
Assistant Director of Community Life, Kelvin Gartley said the changes were made after receiving feedback from students and staff.
“It sort of feels like over the past couple of years, that maybe some of the pride of living in Robson has diminished a little bit,” said Gartley. “There was a great feel in Robson when it was exclusively juniors.”
Students, however, have mixed feelings about the changes. Robson resident and third year student Tiffany Stusinski worries it will add to class separation.
“It will segregate classes, and we don’t learn as much from each other when we are just in our own little groups,” she said. She believes students could benefit from being mixed together.
“I think it is better to live in community,” said Stusinski, who plans to live in McMillan next year. “It will be nice, however, that I will get priority for housing.”
Kelsey Miller, a transfer student, thinks that students should get to decide for themselves where they want to live.
“It’s good to have the option of living where you want once you are an upperclassman,” said Miller. “I think that juniors and seniors should get both options and decide for themselves.”
Although preference will be given to seniors in McMillan, according to Gartley, it will depend on if enough applications come in to fill up those spots.
“Applications are being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, whereas in the past there was a bit more of a points system to determine who would get in,” said Gartley. “If there are enough applications that fill up McMillan with seniors, they’ll get priority.”
Third year student Christian Plover thinks senior housing in McMillan is a good idea: “It will unite the senior class, and gives everyone in that building a common ground.”
Plover, who has applied for the position of McMillan Representative, is excited about the opportunity for class events and the positive impact the changes will have on next year’s graduating class.
“There is a lot of frustration with it though,” admitted Plover. “I think people don’t see the benefits of it because a lot of people want to live in apartment style so they want McMillan.”
This is a frustration that Gartley said is being taken seriously.
“I think some of the things that will impact this as well is our hope to convert the Fraser suites back into apartments,” said Gartley. A board meeting last week discussed these issues as well as the possibility of future buildings on campus to provide the housing that students want.
“If we can do that, in some ways the mad rush of first come first served won’t have such a huge impact on people because at that point we’ll have lots of apartments to offer.”
Now you go...
6 Responses to “Seniority rules McMillan”
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I cannot believe this - the decision would be fine if the two buildings were the same - but they’re not. McMillan and Robson are two different residence styles, and I (as a junior next year) don’t want to be confined to the Robson open community-style room and board.
I think it is worth noting the amount of this years’ sophomores applying for McMillan residence next year. For a start, the first two applications in were from six sophomore boys hoping that they might be lucky enough to be placed in a residence that they would very much actually enjoy living in.
It’s not even about class struggle, to play with words, it’s about personal preference, and that hasn’t really been taken into account in this decision.
Additionally, there are already junior class and senior class representative positions. Having the Robson and McMillan reps doing a similar sort of job, but limited to those living on campus, seems slightly redundant.
And as far as ‘receiving feedback’ - I had not heard a word about this decision until reading about it, in the past tense, in Mars’ Hill just now. As a (hopeful) future McMillan resident…or maybe Robson if this is the case… I am concerned why neither I nor any of my applicant friends were contacted.
I take back my third point “personal preference hasn’t really been taken into account” due to the fact that I see Gartley says “this is a frustration that is being taken seriously”. The fact remains, Juniors want to live in McMillan. They did this year, they did last year. Nothing’s changed.
I am not going to lie. This seems like a hasty decision that hasn’t been given careful thought. As Craig points out, Robson and McMillan are completely different. I’ve talked to a lot of juniors and seniors and some like Robson and some like McMillan. According to my anecdotal research, I don’t see *only* seniors liking McMillan and *only* juniors liking Robson. Some like one and some like the other with no huge majority in either group. I was really hoping to get into McMillan because Robson is “just another dorm”. If I wanted to be in a dorm, I would stay in Douglas where I’ve already built a lot of friendships! I hope they reverse this decision quickly, or at least let the students vote on it.
Actually, this decision is not hasty, it’s been in discussion for years. I remember when my brother was going here, people were lining up to live in Robson, back when it was exclusively junior housing. Let’s not diminish the great qualities of the building. I feel it creates a closer knit community, while giving a nice transition between dorms and living on your own. It’s a much newer building, with nicer facilities than McMillan.
But most importantly, I’m worried about where the seniors will end up. With a first-come, first-serve system, many senior students who HAVE to live on campus won’t be able to. If McMillan fills up with senior students, it probably means that there are a lot of seniors with no other options. Personally speaking, I can’t afford a car, and I don’t want to live off campus at all.
Additionally, Craig, if you are arguing against the importance of having McMillan and Robson Reps, I can tell you (seeing as I am one) we are kept awfully busy, and I think the positions are extremely important. Our responsibilities are very different from Junior and Senior Rep.
What bothers me very much, in light of Will’s comments, is this: I am very actively involved on campus. I have my fingers in all the pies, colloquially speaking. So this decision has been in discussion for years, and I don’t understand why I nor any of my friends have heard anything about this debate - everyone I’ve talked to so far is puzzled. Has the administration not probed for student opinions?
I am also completely shocked that 3rd year McMillan applicants were told nothing upon application about likely application rejection. That’s the kicker as far as I’m concerned. If my room-mates and I do not get into McMillan, will we be placed in Robson? What if that building is full? Will we be forced back into residence?
I understand your concerns about seniors without cars having to live on campus, but what I’m arguing does not conflict with that concern. I’m arguing that the issue here is NOT class standing but personal preference. As Josh says, there are seniors who want to live in Robson and juniors who want to live in McMillan. It is absurd to segregate the classes this way. A first-come, first-serve basis is the best way to represent personal preference. If a student knows they want to get into McMillan they should be on top of the application process.
In response to your last point, Will, I am not arguing that. No offence meant to your work. All I wanted to say was that if the senior-junior split does happen, definitively, that is, McMillan and Robson reps (respectively senior-class and junior-class oriented, of course) it seems there will be a lot of commonality between those positions and that of the senior- and junior-class reps. Are there elements of the job thus at risk of redundancy? Disagree? You’re the pro here. That’s just my evaluation. I was playing off Christian Plover’s comments.
In conclusion, I will add that Christian Plover resembles Chris Martin of Coldplay.
correction: *neither* I nor any of my friends have heard anything about it.