Interest in substance-free housing rapidly declining

In the past few years, Duke has seen a significant decline in demand for substance-free housing.

Substance-free housing is currently available for freshmen in Jarvis on East Campus and in Wannamaker Quadrangle on West Campus. However, student demand to be placed in such housing has declined recently, said Dean for Residential Life Joe Gonzalez.

Gonzalez noted that for the 2015-16 year, three of the four Wannamaker towers are currently substance-free—whereas in previous years, all four have been substance-free. Only one tower next year will be substance-free.

“I think it’s good that at least there is that option,” said senior Emily Schmitz, who lived in one of Wannamaker’s substance-free sections for a semester. “Even if it’s not filling up, at least people who want to live there still have that option. It’s not like they want to live there but aren’t allowed to.”

According to the Duke Student Affairs website, Wannamaker is currently home to approximately 230 students. Gonzalez wrote that in previous years, most of Wannamaker could be filled with substance-free housing students. However, only 24 students requested substance-free housing on West Campus for the 2015-16 year and only 16 have requested it for the next academic year.

By January 2018, Jarvis—along with Epworth and East Residence Hall—will be replaced by a new dorm due to renovation plans. Although plans for substance-free housing for freshmen have not been finalized, Gonzalez said that removing substance-free housing from East Campus is a possible option.

Gonzalez noted that one of the reasons the number of Wannamaker substance-free options will be decreased is to avoid having to assign students to substance-free who did not request to be there.

Students also have different perceptions of the substance-free housing experience.

The quiet nature of substance-free dorms, especially at night, is a positive, said freshman Kathryn Vera, who chose to live in Jarvis.

Senior Safa Kaleem, a current resident assistant in Wannamaker, noted that there was a strong sense of community and attendance at dorm events because many students had consciously chosen to live there.

Freshman Leah Rosen, who did not request substance-free housing, said that she feels judged by others in Jarvis who requested to be in the dorm, and that people who go to parties more often are sometimes stigmatized.

Vera, however, said that this is contrary to her experience, and that she has yet to meet anyone in Jarvis who is critical of other lifestyles. She added that she has experienced at times a stigma against students who choose to live in substance-free housing.

“I know substance-free people who don’t live in Jarvis who don’t want to be grouped with a person who would be selected to be in a substance-free area,” Rosen said. “Because the type of person who would select to be in it might not know how to respond or deal with people with different lifestyles from them.”

Freshman Sam Sadler, who said she is substance-free but specifically chose not to live in Jarvis, noted that one of the reasons she chose not to live in Jarvis is that she did not want to be labeled as “fearing people who choose to drink or smoke.”

Students who did not request to be in substance-free living might face more severe punishments for violations than they would in other dorms, said freshman Francia Fang. She added that a student had been kicked out of Jarvis and forced to move for an alcohol-related infraction—an incident less likely to happen in other dorms.

Sadler attributed the decreasing demand to students seeing the substance-free housing option as less and less necessary to practice a substance-free lifestyle on campus.

“When I got here, I realized I can be around this environment and stick with what I believe, and it wouldn’t surprise me if others started feeling the same way,” she said. “Living in substance-free housing isn’t a requirement anymore.”

The Chronicle spoke with Gonzalez on the phone and via email.