This event ended up quite different than I expected. It mostly came down to the extreme dissatisfaction with the gothic residence halls. It made me think about the housing master plan I worked on with the Meinig Scholars program freshman year. My subgroup was focused on North Campus at the time, and during our work on the proposal to the Cornell housing committee, we found a surprising amount of disparity between dorms in terms of not just the buildings, but also maintenance. During the Rose Cafe, it made me wonder how much of this kind of disparity exists on West Campus. The main buildings are more modern and nicer than the gothics, but maintenance should be the same between all of the buildings. However, based on the complaints I heard from students, it sounds like that may not be the case. Of course, if one bathroom is used more than another, the first needs more attention than the second. Perhaps, then, the system needs a little revamping.
Rose Scholars Fall 2017
Endless possibilities
I completely agree! It seems as if the Gothics get neglected compared to the main buildings.
In my experience, there’s often a disparity not just between main houses and the Gothics, but between the Gothic buildings themselves! I lived in one of them last year and while it wasn’t *that* bad, I feel like I have already been spoiled these past few weeks by the ‘luxuries’ and conveniences of living in Rose Main. I was interested to hear about groups working on resolving housing issues on North Campus. I think it would be great to have a committee look into trying to equalise the maintenance standards across all buildings, including on West.
From living in a quad in Donlon last year to a quad in a gothic this year, I think the system that needs the most revamping is the latter!