Marquis backs out, residents left scrambling

Marquis refused to house sophomores and juniors for the 1998-99 school year. Those students who were supposed to live there were notified by resident life through a letter and given their options.

by Laura Casamento editor in chief

Students were left scrambling for housing early in the summer when they were told that they would not be able to move into the Marquis Apartments for the 1998-99 school year.

Students were given the option to move into these off-campus apartments when they signed up for the housing lottery at the end of the spring 1998 semester.

According to a representative from the Marquis, Cabrini administrators did not make a deal with the complex's owners before giving the students the option to move in.

"Cabrini never asked us for permission," the representative said. "They did not have any agreement with us."

The Marquis' owners allege that they were never even notified by Cabrini about their plans to house students there.

"We found out about it when several parents called to ask about their children's housing," the representative said.

Dr. Robert Bonfiglio, vice president of student development, denied the representative's allegations.

"We went over in the spring several times to meet with these people," Bonfiglio said. "We shook hands on the last visit and agreed to house students at the Marquis."

Bonfiglio said that accommodations had been made for 60 students to live at the Marquis.

"[The owners] gave us floor plans and everything," Bonfiglio said. "Basically, they welcomed those 60 students to stay there."

However, Bonfiglio said, the final financial agreement was left up to the rental agent and Stephen Lightcap, vice president for finance and administration.

"According to what [Lightcap] told me, the Marquis never finalized the deal with Cabrini,"

Bonfiglio said.

"Basically, they decided that they did not want sophomores and juniors living at their apartments," he said. "When the parents of the sophomores called up, Marquis decided to back out of the deal."

Lightcap has been out of the office and was not available to comment on the situation.

With no other readily available housing methods for the displaced students, the resident life staff sent a letter to the students explaining the situation and their options.

"We sent a letter to the students offering them the opportunity to stay on campus," resident life director Cathy Caulfield said.

Students who chose to remain on campus were moved to the head of their classes on the waiting list.

"They were given preference in their class," Caulfield said. "For example, juniors who had no housing were placed before students who already had housing but just wanted a different room or building."

The resident life staff also offered the students the option to commute to school. Each student who picked up that option received a $2,000 bonus.

"About 15 students took the $2,000," Caulfield said. "About five or six didn't come back to school at all and the rest were housed in campus housing."

Junior Erin Dougherty was scheduled to live in the Marquis this semester.

"I went to Cathy [Caulfield] and asked her if there was going to be any problems with the Marquis, because I didn't want to be left with no housing,"

Dougherty said. "She said that the apartments were the least of her worries and that I definitely had a place at the Marquis. Then she told me not to go into the [on-campus] apartment lottery."

Dougherty found out in June that there was no contract be- tween the school and the apartment complex.

"Basically, we're out on our own," she said. "By June all the leases are taken and the campus didn't seem to be doing much to help us out."

Dougherty and two friends managed to find an off-campus apartment. However, they cannot move in until Oct. 1 and have been staying on-campus in friends' rooms.

"Now I'm pretty much homeless for a month and a half," she said.

"The worst part is that we all got split up. I was supposed to live with another junior and two seniors, but the seniors have to live somewhere else."

Bonfiglio, however, feels that the arrangement has worked out to everyone's advantage.

"Everything is working out better now," he said. "Everyone is on campus, we don't have to worry about students being far away, we don't have to worry about shuttle buses, etc."