[251] in UA Exec
Re: Summer Housing
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Daniel Hawkins)
Thu Feb 25 20:47:31 2010
Reply-To: hwkns@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <4B872206.8080703@mit.edu>
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:47:26 -0500
From: Daniel Hawkins <hwkns@MIT.EDU>
To: Mike Bennie <mbennie@mit.edu>
Cc: Ashley Nash <ashnash@mit.edu>, ua-exec@mit.edu,
UA Senate <ua-senate@mit.edu>
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Hmm. I stand corrected. (except the thing about Simmons having no dorm
culture - that's just true.)
-hwkns
On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 8:21 PM, Mike Bennie <mbennie@mit.edu> wrote:
> The Housing Strategy Group (HSG) is currently addressing this issue. The
> undergraduate student representatives on that committee are Aziz Albahar
> (DormCon President), Lyla Fischer (DormCon Vice President), and myself. HSG
> has scheduled weekly meetings for the rest of the term and Aziz, Lyla, and I
> have met (and will continue to meet) with Residential Life outside of HSG to
> work out even more of the details.
>
> We are currently discussing which dorms will be kept open and which ones
> will be closed. This is a very complicated process because some dorms are
> scheduled for renovations, some dorms already have summer programs or
> conferences booked (RSI, MITES, WTP, Interphase, etc.), and some dorms have
> a significantly greater number of students that choose to stick around for
> the summer. The number of open dorms is going to be based on the number of
> students that stay for the summer. We have been discussing issues such as
> storage, transportation of students' belongings across campus if they need
> to move, and the number of dorms/which dorms are open. It seems very likely
> that there will be a system to allow people to block together, as both
> students and the administration see this as a positive feature of summer
> housing.
>
> We had not discussed the issue of smoking, but that is certainly something
> I will bring to the table next week. Thanks for bringing that up. To the
> other members of Senate: I hope we will have a full discussion on this topic
> on Monday evening so that details, like the ones Ashley has brought forward
> tonight, can be voiced in these summer housing meetings.
>
> As for a time line, we are trying to get information out as soon as we can,
> but we've only had one HSG meeting so far this semester. Hopefully, we will
> have a better picture of things after the second meeting (March 8).
>
> Changes to the cultural aspects of the dorm are non-negotiable. Murals and
> any other unique aspects of the dorms that are essential to a common
> experience must be preserved. I can't stress the importance of this issue
> enough.
>
> To address Hawkin's point: I thought the same thing you did about how
> Senior House is unlikely to be rented out, but apparently when the
> administration rents these buildings out, it does so to people our age too.
> These aren't just business conferences and Senior House has air
> conditioning.
>
> -Mike
>
>
> Ashley Nash wrote:
>
>> Do we have any time line for when they will decide and when they will
>> announce which dorms will be open for summer and which ones will be closed?
>> If not, is there anything we can do to try to encourage them to keep more
>> dorms open, or at least let the dorm residents stick together wherever they
>> end up?
>> Senior House has a culture that thrives all year round, and we use the
>> summer to host barbecues in the courtyard and repaint our rooms. We like
>> watching the fireworks from the courtyard on the 4th of July, and we don't
>> want to move, especially to a place where we can't smoke cigarettes. Have
>> they thought about the ramifications of moving a bunch of smokers into a
>> non-smoking dorm (which is most of the dorms on campus)?
>> Also, have they considered leaving all (or at least most) of the dorms
>> open and renting out a portion of each house, like the 1st or the 1st and
>> 2nd floors. We rent out a floor of our house every year anyway, and I want
>> to know if all of the dorms have been doing this, and if not, could we try
>> it?
>>
>> A lot of my residents are concerned about whether or not they will be able
>> to live in Senior House for the summer. They are concerned that if Senior
>> House is rented out, that the administration will try to stop Senior House
>> from painting murals, which is what they did when Senior House was renovated
>> in 1996. They are afraid that the administration will cater to the summer
>> tenants and not the residents.
>> We are fine with sharing our house with tenants. They usually stay out
>> all day and use Senior House to sleep and do laundry. We just don't want to
>> be replaced by them.
>>
>> Ashley Nash
>> Senator of Senior House
>>
>
>
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Hmm.=A0 I stand corrected.=A0 (except the thing about Simmons having no dor=
m culture - that's just true.)<br><br>-hwkns<br><br><br><div class=3D"g=
mail_quote">On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 8:21 PM, Mike Bennie <span dir=3D"ltr">=
<<a href=3D"mailto:mbennie@mit.edu">mbennie@mit.edu</a>></span> wrote=
:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; borde=
r-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">The Housing Strat=
egy Group (HSG) is currently addressing this issue. The undergraduate stude=
nt representatives on that committee are Aziz Albahar (DormCon President), =
Lyla Fischer (DormCon Vice President), and myself. HSG has scheduled weekly=
meetings for the rest of the term and Aziz, Lyla, and I have met (and will=
continue to meet) with Residential Life outside of HSG to work out even mo=
re of the details.<br>
<br>
We are currently discussing which dorms will be kept open and which ones wi=
ll be closed. This is a very complicated process because some dorms are sch=
eduled for renovations, some dorms already have summer programs or conferen=
ces booked (RSI, MITES, WTP, Interphase, etc.), and some dorms have a signi=
ficantly greater number of students that choose to stick around for the sum=
mer. The number of open dorms is going to be based on the number of student=
s that stay for the summer. We have been discussing issues such as storage,=
transportation of students' belongings across campus if they need to m=
ove, and the number of dorms/which dorms are open. It seems very likely tha=
t there will be a system to allow people to block together, as both student=
s and the administration see this as a positive feature of summer housing.<=
br>
<br>
We had not discussed the issue of smoking, but that is certainly something =
I will bring to the table next week. Thanks for bringing that up. To the ot=
her members of Senate: I hope we will have a full discussion on this topic =
on Monday evening so that details, like the ones Ashley has brought forward=
tonight, can be voiced in these summer housing meetings.<br>
<br>
As for a time line, we are trying to get information out as soon as we can,=
but we've only had one HSG meeting so far this semester. Hopefully, we=
will have a better picture of things after the second meeting (March 8).<b=
r>
<br>
Changes to the cultural aspects of the dorm are non-negotiable. Murals and =
any other unique aspects of the dorms that are essential to a common experi=
ence must be preserved. I can't stress the importance of this issue eno=
ugh.<br>
<br>
To address Hawkin's point: I thought the same thing you did about how S=
enior House is unlikely to be rented out, but apparently when the administr=
ation rents these buildings out, it does so to people our age too. These ar=
en't just business conferences and Senior House has air conditioning.<b=
r>
<font color=3D"#888888">
<br>
-Mike</font><div><div></div><div class=3D"h5"><br>
<br>
Ashley Nash wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; borde=
r-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
Do we have any time line for when they will decide and when they will annou=
nce which dorms will be open for summer and which ones will be closed? <br>
If not, is there anything we can do to try to encourage them to keep more d=
orms open, or at least let the dorm residents stick together wherever they =
end up? <br>
Senior House has a culture that thrives all year round, and we use the summ=
er to host barbecues in the courtyard and repaint our rooms. =A0We like wat=
ching the fireworks from the courtyard on the 4th of July, and we don't=
want to move, especially to a place where we can't smoke cigarettes. =
=A0Have they thought about the ramifications of moving a bunch of smokers i=
nto a non-smoking dorm (which is most of the dorms on campus)? <br>
Also, have they considered leaving all (or at least most) of the dorms open=
and renting out a portion of each house, like the 1st or the 1st and 2nd f=
loors. =A0We rent out a floor of our house every year anyway, and I want to=
know if all of the dorms have been doing this, and if not, could we try it=
?<br>
<br>
A lot of my residents are concerned about whether or not they will be able =
to live in Senior House for the summer. =A0They are concerned that if Senio=
r House is rented out, that the administration will try to stop Senior Hous=
e from painting murals, which is what they did when Senior House was renova=
ted in 1996. =A0They are afraid that the administration will cater to the s=
ummer tenants and not the residents. <br>
We are fine with sharing our house with tenants. =A0They usually stay out a=
ll day and use Senior House to sleep and do laundry. =A0We just don't w=
ant to be replaced by them.<br>
<br>
Ashley Nash<br>
Senator of Senior House<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br>
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