New suite-styledorm to be built by 2000

The college is now working on a plan to have a new dorm built by the year 2000. Due to cramped living conditions, the college is taking action to reduce the crowding. The new dorm will consist of suites of triple, double and single rooms with their own bathrooms and a lounge without a kitchen.

by Kristen Williams staff writer

According to many students, being shoved into cramped quarters, living in study lounges, having two roommates and being told that there is no more living space available on campus is not what they expected at Cabrini

A solution to the packed living quarters on campus has finally been found.

According to Dr. Robert Bonfiglio, vice president of student development, "We are going to build a new residence hall."

Steven Lightcap, vice president for finance and administration, added, "We are hoping to break ground this summer, and have the residence up and running for the fall of the year 2000."

Bonfiglio said that the "dorm" would be modeled after Dixon House, but would offer yet another style of living. He said it would be "suite-type living.nth - would not be large "lecture hall" 16 people to a suite." type rooms, but smaller "discus-

As of now, Bonfiglio is plan- sion rooms." ning for each suite to have one This, however, is not a definite triple room, five doubles and addition to the dorm. It has simthree singles.

Along with the bedrooms, Bonfiglio is hoping that each suite will have its own bathroom and lounge.

They will not, however, have a kitchen, thus distinguishing them from the apartments.

"There would be a total of 10 suites in the building, each with 16 students in it, allowing for the new residence hall to house 160 new students," said Bonfiglio. "It will probably house first-year and sophomore students."

Along with housing students, there has been discussion about other uses for the new dorm.

"Presently, it is under discussion to add some seminar-type classrooms in the building, but it is still in the discussion phase," Lightcap said.

He added that the classrooms

'We are hoping to break ground this summer, and have the residence up and running for the fall of the year 2000."

-Steven Lightcap, vice president for finance and administration ply been suggested.

''The proposal for such a residence was a recommendation that came from the college planning and some student development research," Lightcap said.

''We are trying to incorporate what is known as a traditional contemporary dormitory. We prefer to call it a residence, however.''"

He explained "traditional contemporary" as a building that took on normal dormitory features, but gave students a "tighter" community within, thus making it more of a "home."

When asked where this new dorm would be placed, Bonfiglio said, "It would be put somewhere in the area of the parking lot that is now located across from Xavier Hall, in between House One [Maguire House] and Woodcrest."

This, however, raised questions about the already cramped parking situation on campus.

''The new residence may not necessarily take away the parking," Lightcap said. "I have two plans sitting in front of me that leave that area open."

Lightcap also added that the town code requires Cabrini to have one parking space for every three beds in a residence hall. He said that although Cabrini would like to do more, this meant that there would be at least an additional 53 available spots.

Will one new dorm really solve the current problems with Cabrini's housing?

Bonfiglio implied that he hoped it would.

"We're building it for our planned growth," said Bonfiglio, "but also to move students out of lounges and into more ideal living situations."

Bonfiglio feels that although Cabrini intends to gain more students, the "net growth" of resident students will be less than 160.

Therefore, the lack of housing that exists now will be impacted.

"This is by no means a final configuration for the new dorm," concluded Lightcap. "It is still in the programming phase, the first step of what is a 12-step process."