Today’s Staff Editorial
The recent flooding of an Old Leonardtown apartment provides yet another example of how on-campus housing is often a story of contrasts. For students living in dorms such as Queen Anne’s or the newly constructed Oakland Hall, cozy accommodations and modern facilities allow for a comfortable lifestyle.
But students who lived in the cramped and crumbling confines of buildings such as Wicomico or Caroline halls may recall dorm life with the same fondness as one would describe grisly trenches. Moldy walls, flooded floors, cold showers or saunalike conditions — none of these exactly scream excitement for prospective students.
In some sense, these characterizations belie the tremendous upswing in quality on-campus housing options the campus community has recently experienced. The Department of Resident Life is slowly but surely installing air conditioning in every dormitory, Oakland Hall and the Denton quad renovations are finally complete, and by fall 2014, the $71 million Prince Frederick Hall will open up seven floors of presumably exceptional housing to students. Few students will be pained by the proceeding planned demolition of Caroline, Carroll and Wicomico halls and the minimal luxury they provide, and cessation of Prince Frederick’s construction noise will be a major relief to some.
Yet the desire for minimized construction on the campus must not silence the much-needed call to provide fair housing options for every student. Transforming this university and improving students’ quality of life requires an expansive effort that doesn’t lose sight of the oft-forgotten subcommunities. A prime example: Old Leonardtown.
For the second time this year, Old Leonardtown residents have reported considerable flooding in their apartment-style units. Regarding his apartment’s condition during the flooding, senior government and politics major Paul Tumulty told The Diamondback: “It was pretty insane. Right under the table where we eat at, there was pretty much a lake of water.”
Barring some freak meteorological event, a “lake of water” in a dorm warrants discussion of potential structural housing issues that need addressing. In the context of the housing developments on and off the campus over the past few years, this incident is a stark reminder of the work left ahead.
Not too long ago, university officials were sharing plans for a hotel, shops and other amenities included in the expansive East Campus development project to replace Old Leonardtown along with several other unsightly campus facilities beside Paint Branch Parkway. As we’ve discussed elsewhere at length, that incarnation of East Campus’ development has evaporated. This is not to say we can forget the need for further renovations.
If a “lake of water” isn’t a stark enough reminder, this editorial board urges university officials to remember its past promises. Specifically, opening Prince Frederick Hall in 2014 won’t remove the need for housing construction on the campus. Along with the need to finish installing air conditioning and other modern services in every dorm, future plans to renovate or replace Old Leonardtown deserve serious consideration. Even without a broad East Campus project, replacing decaying dorms across the campus, such as Old Leonardtown, should be a key part of the next step in the College Park revitalization effort.
For two straight years, Resident Life has successfully provided on-campus housing for all eligible students who put in a request, but this accomplishment loses much of its meaning if housing options fail to reach some consistent baseline standards. Paying almost the same amount for a forced triple in Wicomico Hall and a spacey room in Oakland Hall is not fair to students, nor is it fair when officials ignore a series of dorm floodings. When students first moved into Old Leonardtown 41 years ago, it helped transform housing on the campus. Nearly half a century later, it might be time for another transformation.
