A student housing revolution is taking place on Choate’s campus. In anticipation of the inauguration of two new forty-student dorms next fall, the administration has instituted a series of dramatic changes that affect the gender, age and size make-up of multiple dormitories.
Almost all dorms will transform into single form dorms for the next academic year. Only four sophomore-junior dorms will remain this fall: Clinton Knight and Hill House for boys, and McCook and Archbold for girls. Freshmen housing will probably remain unaltered. However, because of the planned decommissioning of four senior houses, senior housing will also undergo a makeover.
The focal point of housing policy begins with the deans’ decision to dedicate the two new dormitories to the fourth form. Behind this decision is a desire to nurture fourth formers more effectively as they transition through the community. Director of Residential Life Amy Salot explained, “Mr. Ford and other members of the deans’ office have come up with a slightly new housing plan, mostly to help us direct a need for increased supervision and structure for our fourth formers. So what we have done is separated out the forms in most dorms. There will be four dorms that will be both sophomore and junior as they are now, and that’s to give admissions office the most flexibility we can.”
As to whether the changes will be beneficial, Ms. Salot speculates: “There are some positive points and some negative points. One of the negative points is losing the fourth formers living with the fifth formers. I think they enjoyed it, they made good friendships, and in many cases the fifth formers were good role models for the fourth formers. What we gain is an increase in structure for the fourth formers in term of studying and academics. The fourth formers in many of the dorms are treated during study hours more like fifth formers, and it doesn’t always serve them well. We want to rein them in a little bit and develop their study habits a little bit more than we are presently doing.”
McCook house adviser and resident Mr. Deron Chang observed, “I think [the housing change] will be positive because it provides another option for the students. The good thing is that we can always change back in the future if the new plan does not work out. My feeling is that it is always worth trying something as long as no one loses an eye.”
Student opinions on the elimination of many sophomore-junior dorms vary. Current Logan resident Tom Guo ’09 said, “I think [the change] is a bad idea because dorms should have dynamics. Sometimes, older students and younger students bring a balance to the dorm which brings more spirit. Take Logan Munroe, for example, the greatest dorm on campus. It is a mixture of sophomores and juniors who coexist and have the greatest fun on campus.”
Hill House resident Rohan Hong ’09 examined the bright side of the change. “I think it is good that not all of the dorms are changing because I think the idea of forms being separated will extend the gap between upperclassmen and underclassmen, making the relationships between the two more difficult.”
Although some students oppose the housing change, Mr. Ford has previously told The News, “We are here to make our school better for the current students and students in the future. It is important for current students to accept the change.”
Fourth Form girls next year will live in the new dorm and Pitman. Likewise, Fourth Form boys will live in the new dorm and Spencer. Hall, West Wing and Library will all be Fifth Form girls’ dorms, while Quantrell, Logan Munroe, Atwater and Mem Basement will become Fifth Form boys’ dorms.
Current Sixth Form dorms Further Cottage, Gables, Richardson and Wheeler will be decommissioned at the end of this spring.
In an interview last spring, Dean of Faculty Stephen Farrell explained the reason for decommissioning these four Sixth Form houses: “They don’t work well as dorms. They don’t have common rooms. They don’t have a sufficient number of people to give the kind of diversity that we like to talk about. It’s an incredibly inefficient use of your faculty, who are already fully overextended as faculty members in a boarding school.”
Gables will become home to the Summer Program offices. The other three buildings will probably be restored for faculty housing. Further Cottage, however, may be renovated to house administrative offices.
As a result of the loss of the four Sixth Form houses, Mead will become a Sixth Form girls’ dorm, while Edsall and East Cottage will change become Sixth Form boys’ houses. Although it will still be used as a dorm next year, Lewis may no longer be a senior house. This decision will largely depend on admissions information to come and consequently has not yet been made.
Although some students are concerned by the loss of the small Sixth Form houses, Mr. Ford explained in a previous interview that future students will not have the experience of living in a smaller house. Consequently, he said, “No students [in the future] will care.”
