Written by: Marian Polanco
On the first of the month, John Willis, associate dean of men, announced via email a series of Southern Village policy changes that sparked backlash from students. Two weeks later, students received an email from the Southern Village dean and housing team announcing adjustments to the initial changes, which the team called a “fair compromise between your concerns and the efficiency of our program.”
One of the changes listed in Willis’ initial email was a new application process based on class standing. Willis wrote that housing groups could not combine students with different class standings; they should either consist of all seniors or all juniors.
Another change was that all-senior groups would enjoy new incentives, such as the elimination of traditional nightly checks. Instead, wellness checks would occur at varying times three nights a week. Moreover, seniors could host mixed company in their apartments until midnight, as opposed to the previous curfew of 11 p.m., and are no longer required to obtain weekend or overnight leaves.
A third change eliminates the eligibility of students 23 years or older to live in Southern Village. Instead, they can live off campus or in 23+ campus housing, if there is availability.
In response to student concerns regarding the class standing application policy, which was altered slightly to place mixed groups as lowest-priority applicants, the Southern Village dean and housing team introduced a compromise, allowing more flexibility in group composition. The new placement structure now prioritizes groups in the following order: (1) all seniors, (2) three seniors and one junior, (3) two juniors and two seniors, (4) one senior and three juniors and (5) all juniors. In addition, the application deadline was extended to Feb. 26.
When the Accent attempted to contact the deans in charge of housing to gain more insight into these changes, they were unavailable.
One student who took action due to her frustration with the new application process was junior English literature major Madison Wilcox. Wilcox, who will be a senior in the fall, and her twin sister, who will remain a junior, faced being separated next school year due to differing class standings.
Cottage construction continues
Written by: Htet Myint
In an email detailing some of the changes coming to Southern Village next school year, John Willis, associate dean of men, cited the addition of a new on-campus housing option — cottage-style homes to be located on the hill behind the Art Annex and Campus Safety — as one of the reasons for the changes.
Twenty-seven cottages are being constructed in response to an expected rise in demand for campus housing next fall semester, according to Tom Verrill, senior vice president for Financial Administration.
“The timeline is to have the targeted 27 units ready before the start of school this coming August,” Verrill said.
Despite facing setbacks, such as a delay in obtaining the necessary permits to begin moving dirt at the designated site off of Colcord Drive and undergoing cottage design changes to meet building requirements, Verrill said the project is in its final stages of adjustments before construction.
According to a previous Accent article, the cottage units, which will be called the “Mountain Cottages,” are being constructed off campus by an outside company.
According to Verrill, gradig work on the site will begin as soon as they receive the appropriate permits. Grading is the process of leveling or reshaping the ground for construction. He said one of the benefits of having the cottages built offsite is that Southern can work on the site during construction of the cottages.
In the event that the cottages are not ready, Verrill said Southern is working on contingency plans to implement, if necessary, and university administrators are confident they will have enough housing for the enrollment that is being projected.
“I think the recent changes to Village student housing policies surprised us all,” Wilcox said in an interview with the Accent. “My twin sister, Morgan, who is a junior by credit hours, and I have roomed together since the first year, so we were pretty upset when we realized we didn’t have the same class standing and probably couldn’t next year.
“Most of our friends are seniors. It would be hard to find optional housemates for Morgan, since we don’t know that many juniors,” she added. “We’re both the same age and have been at Southern for the same amount of time.”
Because of these issues, Wilcox decided to create a petition aimed at highlighting what she considers the impracticality of the new policies.
“We felt administration hadn’t considered the new policies’ implications,” Wilcox said. “We know countless people whose housing groups are being split due to the new rules. There are enough unusual situations to make the proposed policy impractical.
“For example, some students arrive at Southern with dual enrollment credits, while others spend time abroad as missionaries,” she added. “It’s unfair to these students to split them up just so housing groups are organized according to class standing.”
To address those concerns, Wilcox said she met with Dean Lisa Patterson and Dean Donene Braithwaite. According to Wilcox, both deans empathized with the students but explained their inability to make exceptions.
When asked about her petition’s potential influence on the eventual compromise created by the housing team, Wilcox said, “Another student who also created a petition met with Dr. [Dennis] Negrón this week to present both of our petitions. Thankfully, we just received an email from Southern Village Housing with updates to the policy. I believe these changes would not have been implemented if we hadn’t spoken out. This success speaks to the student body’s influence on the decisions made by the administration.”
