Students Applaud Residence Hall Proposal

By Sabrina Hartel

Staff Writer

A proposal to build residence halls for Brooklyn College students and faculty was made last week by the Office of Student Affairs at a town hall meeting last Tuesday in the Student Center.

For at least a year, BC administrators have been considering the construction of residential housing development near the campus.

"There is a demand for some form of housing at the undergrad and graduate level," said Steve Little, vice president for Finance and Administration, "Three developers have approached us in the past year."

A Brooklyn College student who asked to be identified only as Renata said, "[Residential halls] would be good for people who travel a lot, even though I live nearby. Some students work part-time, so affordable housing is important." Her sentiments appeared to echo those of many students the Kingsman spoke with.

Providing housing arrangements for students is a major capital project, said Little. He explained that the college would most likely hire an outside agency to incur most of the cost, although the school would likely share some of the expenses.

Dean of Student Affairs Milga Morales said that specifics, such as whether or not financial aid would cover housing fees, had not yet been worked out. There was also no word on the possible location of the proposed residences.

Brooklyn College is "land-locked" within 885,450 square feet of property, according to Little, making it virtually impossible to place residence halls on the campus.

Little said the area beyond the old Long Island Railroad tracks would be a promising location, but that acquiring that air rights would be a difficult task.

Records from the Department of City Planning registered eight lots of "open space" within the college's 11210 zip code and 168 lots of vacant land as of 2005.

Melanie Kaminker, a student who lives near the school, said that she would like to see a residence hall built. "It's a great idea. I wouldn't have to wake up early," she said, musing on what life would be like with on-campus housing.

"I live off campus, but [residential housing] would give life to the campus," said Adam Lobel, a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. "It's a commuter campus, so part of the difficulty is making contacts, getting a good social life. Students go to class and then they leave. You don't get to meet people like you normally would at other colleges where there's 'dorming.' While this isn't 'dorming,' I think it's a step in the right direction to make Brooklyn College more exciting."

Many students, though, said that privacy and security would be major concerns. Morales reassured that the building would have security and if altercations occurred, they could be dealt with swiftly.

The crime rate in the 70th Police Precinct has decreased steadily since 2002, according to Police Department sources. In 2006, there were 712 robbery reports in the precinct out of 24,077 citywide. Felonious assaults in the precinct came it 398 out of 17,167 citywide with only 19 forcible rapes reported out of 1,115 citywide.

The Student Affairs office has yet to resolve how the college would select its residents. "I don't know," said Little. "Undergraduate, graduate, is it available to faculty? That hasn't been determined."

Faculty members weren't shy about sharing their views at the meeting.

"[Residence halls] would attract people on campus and increase team spirit," said Department of Physical Education and Health Sciences Chairman Charles Tobey, who added that a 24-hour fitness center would increase quality of life.

"One of the first things that struck me about Brooklyn College was the emasculation of students living at home," said Music Department Chairman Bruce MacIntyre. "We get students from all over the world. It's always been a challenge for international students."

"We've mentioned community a lot tonight," he said. "I was here 35 years ago and 50 percent of the faculty lived near the college. I can see a way in which community would be increased… I look forward to playing squash."

The proposed residence, in part, is intended to foster independence and increase student punctuality and attendance, explained Morales.

Little also addressed concerns about "misplaced residents" who already live in the community. "It's not Brooklyn College's policy to make people homeless," said Little. "We're concerned about being a good neighbor."

CLAS Assembly Speaker Pinni Bohm expressed his support for the proposal. "I think it would increase Brooklyn College's appeal to students and would also increase student involvement in campus events," said Bohm. "Right now, we are a commuter campus and as such, have the [one of the] lowest student participation in campus life among universities. I believe less than ten percent of students participate in clubs according to a statistic released by Student Development a few years ago."

"Every time the idea has come up at an executive cabinet meeting there has been wide-spread support for the concept of residence halls," Little added.

Asked when students could realistically expect to see movement on residence halls, Little refused to speculate, saying only "as soon as possible."

The City College of New York is the only CUNY school to have residence halls on campus. The CCNY Towers, located on West 130th Street , are a pair of adjacent 8- and 9-story buildings. Construction of the $56 million structure began in August 2005 and students started moving in last August.

Ellis Simon, director of public relations at City College, said the Towers, an 180,000 square-foot facility with 164 fully-furnished apartments, accommodates roughly 600 students and faculty members. The costs range from $775 for a two-bedroom, to $1,075 for four-room apartment.

-with additional reporting by Michael A. Harris