First impressions: We bought that?

The Mansion on the Hill.

I'm not going to bury the lead here: We bought that? We bought the City Vista apartments just on the north campus border? Are you kidding me? This is the best non-academic news Trinity students have received since the residency requirement jumped from two to three years in the eighties. The 1980's.

There is so much to love about this because it is a bonanza for our students. I am surprised that some students are skeptical, as quoted in the Trinitonian article about this. More on that later.

As someone who has advised student government since 1994 I can tell you that the three-year requirement is routinely raised as an issue by students. I have personally lobbied for a two-year requirement. Our reasons have been different though. As I have toured other campuses it has become increasingly evident that apartment-style living should be offered to our students. Our Board of Trustees and administration has been steadfast. They believe in the ethos of a residential campus and have not wavered. One Board member told me it would be more palatable to build apartments than change the requirement. He wasn't lying.

It is difficult enough to have a three-year requirement, but when the housing options are generally limited to suite style then we are expecting students to live with roommates and meal plans beyond what they would like or can stand.

This has been clear to students for some time and it finally became evident as the recent master planning process unfolded. One of the key recommendations: apartments for older junior and senior students. One of the first questions then, was where? While various options and timelines were tentatively bandied about, there were often drawbacks.

There are no drawbacks to the City Vista apartments.
- They are ready for occupancy this fall. Two days ago we had no apartments and in six weeks students will sign up to live in some incredible spaces.
- They are off-campus but on campus. This will give students a sense of freedom from campus but proximity to events, friends, and facilities. Many students over the years have aid they would love to stay on campus but they want to cook their own meals and have their own bedrooms.
- Students who don't want to live in student apartment housing don't have to. They still have choices elsewhere in town.
- No one has talked yet about the long-term ripple effect. These apartments will likely create more space in our current residence halls for more single rooms for juniors who aren't interested in the apartments.
- We are now competitive in the housing market with other institutions. We have outstanding apartment options that our current and new students can look to as they see their future here.

Some of the early criticisms (see aforementioned article) are vexing. Some students have expressed concerns that seem incongruent. On the one hand they don't want Trinity University to be intrusive and manage the apartments as residences, while on the other they don't trust students to take care of these apartments and not be disruptive to others.

I ask those students to keep open minds about this and use our current program to inform our thoughtful approach. We have designed our junior and senior housing to allow for more autonomy. Instead of Resident Assistants or Resident Mentors we employ Hall Managers at a ratio of about one staff member to 100 residents. They are trained to mostly be hands-off on conduct issues (except for blatant violations) and building community is not emphasized as much as in the first year area and Sophomore College as we know that many have their own networks already.

Of course there are many questions yet to be answered about management, pricing, oversight, and staffing. Give us a chance. So many campuses manage and maintain apartments effectively that I have no doubt that the outstanding leadership and staff in Residential Life and across campus will figure this out. Work with them and through student government to help set this up for success.

We bought that? How awesome! This has brought years of student, staff, and board conversation to fruition. For whatever reason, fate dropped this opportunity and this facility at our door step. Kudos to the board and the administration to act on this. It was a bold move. It is good for our campus and great for our students. We bought that. You should too.

Take the poll (upper right)with your thoughts.