Tuesday, November 23, 1976
read, wine, and cinder blocks Living at WPI ents and crhlcisms
the residents' point of view 'S NOTE
-•me:•·... which discusses thfl pros •nd livmg on campus, is the first in a three fnturtJs on housing IJt WPI. tJnd third erticltiS, which Will Jlilh living in a frtJternity houH and olf<ampus, rtJspttctively, will IJpfHMr tssues of NEWSPEAK. story was written ah(l( over S6Vtmty.five students, classes, who are currently living in the six dormitories. When writing arttcle, it is obviously impossible to IIIIWiflli'l p•ss on all opinions of all interviewed, but rather it is to express those opinions which by a majority of resid~~nts. thst this series of articles Will ' source of Information to WPI when they come to decide future plans for Term An. by Tom Daniels with Crtllg Vickery w.1 currently provides houling for over _ _.,. • -·•unnred undergraduates In the six complexes: single, double, and rooms in Sanford Riley Hall, double rooms in the three singles and dougles in
This description, along with pa188ges dealing with methods of payment. furnishings, and a terse statement regarding the meal plans, is the bllsis on which students not familiar with life at WPI, are asked to choose which complex they would like to live in. Before making an intelligent choice of living facilities, it is obvious that much more information than thia should ba made available. What about the services provided by WPI7 What about the food? What are some of the stipulations in the rental contract? To answer these and other possible questions one might have about life in the dorms, we decided to go to the most obvious, and without a doubt, the best source : The current dorm residents. The most general question we asked was whether the students were satisfied with the services provided by WPI custodial personnel. In general, they rated these services as good. "The janitors do a great job keeping this place clean, when you stop 10 think about it," said one resident of Daniels Hall. "After all, they can't be everywhere all the time." Other services, such 81 room maintenance, heating, and security, drew both praise and criticism to different degrees. Ae
Riley quad -
. .. . most residents frequently could not find an RA needed one ... Hall, double rooms only in Daniela two, th,.., five end seven ~ ---•• or efficlenciel, in both the Ell• Fuller Reaidenca All freehmen, present school pollcv, mu8t either Clnl of these six units, or commute to from their homes. All women are '*antaed an on campus apartment but. due to the inci"MSSng In the freshman and implications of the recent peaage ERA in Maaaechu.etta, thla policy dropped In the future. All rooma not by freshmen are available to in other c~ on the bella of a
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the classic.
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Photos by Rory 0 'Connor
Administration speaks
Sherer: security, RAs byS.B. Fine Recently there hes been some problema with houling at WPI, specfficelty Vllndaliam and security problems, especially In Rl'-y. Assistant Dean of Student Affllira was interviewed about these and other houling manera. Dean Reutlinger was also preeent for the Interview. The average cost of a room on campus is t710. This co.t is for a double room, except in Ellsworth-Fuller, which Ia the average type of room people who live on campus live ln. For the rental money, students get the rights to the room for a tun school year and basic furniture. The tenant must be a WPI student, must not destroy the room,
for heating, many residents felt that the heat should have been turned on earlier, although they appreclated the fact that the administration was trying every poaible measure to combat rising fuel billa. It was generally agreed that there enough heat In the bulldlngt to keep the toome warm. In fact, some ltudenta said their rooms W8fe too hot. After taking such steps as bleeding radiators, and In eomt cases, putting some weather stripping around the windows, however, the rMidenta felt they had remedied the problem. Room maintenance, such 81 reptaclng llghtr, and fixing broken fumhunt,
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[continued to page 41
much worae than in previous ~,._ Both Dean Reuttlnger and Deen Sherer are of the opinion that more students are eware of th... problema this year due to coverage in the NttwlpHic. Vandalism and tMft are the other big problema this year. Theft is the major one. Dean Sherer said that more large expensive items ere being stolen this year. She 11ya that too many people have keys. WPI hal keys which are not auppoeed to be copied. But every once In a while the school gets a cell from locksmiths wanting to know if they can copy a key for someone from WPI, sometimes a profe110r. Security has an engraving pencil with which people can
.. . . . The RAs are doing an excellent job
. . . they are quite available . . . ..
- Pamela Sherer, Assistant Dean, Student Affairs must have no pets, must not sub-lease or run a business in the dormitories.
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Dean Sherer attributes much of the security problems in Riley to the presence of the Pub. She says that there are not enough facilities in the pub area so people go into Riley to use the bathroom or the telephone. Also the pub stereo was an irritant to the people who lived on the first floor of Riley. Dean Sherer says that new security doors In Riley will help the security problem. The doors will have locks which only the people living in Riley have keys to. Also new alarm systems have been added. The administration does not think that !!8CUritv ,.,,.. .,,.,..rlllli!lm oroblems are very
mark their property for no charge. They suggest that the property be marked In a prominent place so as to deter theft. There have been some complaints from students about Resident Advlsore not being available. Dean Sherer says that the A.A .'s are doing an excellent job. She says they are quite available. But they cannot be nursemaids to students. They have classes and lives of their own and cannot be In their rooms 24 hours a day waiting for someone to come to them for help. The A.A.'s report problems to Dean Sherer sometimee daily so serious problems are reponed to people who can act on them.