X House no longer option for frosh by Katharine Hall Assistant News Dean of the College Freddye Hill sent a campus-wide email Friday afternoon announcing her decision to forbid frosh from living in Malcolm X House and to remove WestCo’s status as a program house. The decision has caused a stir among students and student groups on campus. “We were quite disappointed with the truncated process through which these decisions were made. We believe that there should have been much more collaboration among the decision,” said Joey Wender ’03, President of the WSA. The effect of the decision will be to keep frosh out of program housing, now including Malcolm X House, and to make WestCo a regular residential facility according to Dean Hill’s email. “I reviewed a book about residential life and several articles about first-year housing. I also consulted with colleagues at other colleges and universities. My readings and discussions led me to conclude that it is more beneficial for first-year students to live in units that focused on their needs,” Hill said. According to Michael Lewis ’03, President of the Senior Class and a former resident of Malcolm X House, a group of students met with Jeff Ederer, Director of Residential Life, on Feb. 18 to discuss frosh living in the house. “We were brought [to the meeting] under the premise of discussing a decision, but the decision was already made for us,” Lewis said. According to Lewis, Ederer told the group that they should not worry about frosh living in X House next year because the trains had already left the station. “He had already been made aware of what the decision was going to be,” Lewis said. Representatives from the WSA and the Undergraduate Residential Life Committee (URLC) also expressed frustration about how the decision was made. “We cannot recognize and approve of a decision that was not appropriate. It goes above what the URLC was chartered to and it kind of neglects and negates what we were chartered to do,” said Emily Polak ’05, in reference to the lack of student input. The URLC is a committee of the SLC and was created to maintain a connection with Residential Life. The students on the committee, which consists of both University staff and students, have plans to write up a report announcing the URLC’s disagreement with Dean Hill’s decision, according to Polak. Members of the WSA also questioned Hill’s decision. “The decision making process was way too far along and [they] should have spoken with the WSA, X House, and WestCo months ago,” Wender said. Wender expressed the need to investigate the amount of student involvement in the decision making process. According to Hill, the final decision was up to her and what she believed would be best for frosh. “Certainly we benefit from discussion with students about many issues in student life, but it is still the case that as the Dean of the College, I am obligated to make decisions that are in the best interest of the student body as a whole, even if that decision is not a widely popular one. I am confident that in light of this decision, we will be better able to support both the needs of first-year students and the objectives of our various program houses,” she said. While Friday’s email from Hill addressed both WestCo and Malcolm X House, the decision affects each house differently. According to Polak, the WestCo community met with Hill and ResLife and decided that they could not be categorized as a program house, mainly because of its large size. WestCo houses approximately 100 students, while Malcolm X House, although by far the second largest, houses about 30. WestCo, however, is not going to lose its selectivity and artistic theme next year. “We are developing a new title for WestCo because of its unique status,” Wender said. Malcolm X House will remain a program house. “I think it’s interesting how a new category is made for [WestCo] and they put us [Malcolm X House] into the old rubric,” Lewis commented. In response to Hill’s decision, Lewis expressed concern over incoming frosh and students of color at the University. “I feel the University doesn’t formalize services for students of color and Malcolm X House was the only one,” Lewis said According to Lewis, a meeting is planned for Thursday with Hill to discuss the decision and the future of students of color on campus. “I think it’s a shame that the University says they have such a commitment to diversity but they don’t chose to listen to our opinions before making decision in good faith,” Lewis said. According to Hill, student input will become a priority for decisions in the future. “I will make sure that future proposals are more thoroughly vetted with student groups so that they will have more time to discuss them and provide input. In this case, it would have been better if more time had been allotted for discussion,” Hill said.

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