Trent Drive Hall is scheduled to close its doors to residents in six years, but many current freshmen who may face moving there for their senior year say they are willing to deal with the inconvenience.
"I like the idea of all the sophomores being over on West because Trent sounds like a hassle...," said Trinity freshman Tara Bergen. "It'll be a hassle for us, but they have to do it sometime."
Under the latest iteration of the Residential Program Review, a new dormitory will be constructed behind Few Quadrangle and each of the four main quads on Main West Campus will close for a year while renovations are made to existing facilities.
Starting when the new dorm is completed in fall 2002, Trent will cease to be sophomore-only housing. Instead, sophomores, juniors and seniors will share Trent while their current dormitory is being renovated. By 2006, Trent will be converted to academic office space.
Although administrators have called on selective houses to rally behind the proposal and the move to Trent, some selective houses have not yet discussed the issue.
"At this point it's so far in the future... it's really the first time I've heard of it," said Trinity junior Matthew Bott, president of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. "But for that period of time it will create a different social atmosphere."
Likewise, the Interfraternity Council has not yet discussed the impact of the plan, said Trinity junior Chris Dieterich, IFC's executive vice president for greek life. "We haven't seen enough of the plan at all yet this year," he said.
Dieterich, who is also president of Sigma Chi, said his fraternity has "brought [the residential review] up in various degrees," but expressed cooperation with the efforts.
"We don't have any official claim to our section," he said. "As long as we can still retain our commons room space and number of beds, it's just a temporary inconvenience for a year or two."
Trinity senior K. T. Park, the co-president of Round Table dormitory, said his selective house would probably not mind living in Trent temporarily, as long as they could continue their current activities.
"I don't think there would be a huge controversy over where we live, as long as we were living together," he said. "We enjoy Few Quad. It's a very convenient place to live. At the same time that it would be inconvenient [to live in Trent], it's not something residents would not go along with."
Many upperclassmen said they knew or cared little about the latest iteration of the plan.
"It's not going to affect me, so I haven't really thought about it," said engineering senior Marco Merino, a member of Maxwell House dormitory.
Administrators and students agree that upperclassmen would likely rather move off campus than live in the lone North Campus dorm.
"If an upperclassman finds out they'll be swung into Trent, they'll probably move off... and I would stay off," said Trinity sophomore Jennifer McDaneld. "It seems that [the residential life plan] will keep seniors and juniors from living on campus."
Amir Rashid-Farokhi, liaison to the Residential Program Review for Duke Student Government, said student reaction is "hard to gauge" because upperclassmen will be unaffected and freshmen still lack institutional knowledge of the issue.
He said DSG is planning to hold forums addressed toward specific campus groups to determine student concerns. "There is a lot of work to be done," the Trinity senior said.
DSG President Lisa Zeidner said Trent will be a point of discussion in the forums and as DSG moves to gather student input. "It's a question-mark area," the Trinity senior said. "We're concerned with making the transition as untraumatic as possible.... But the general feelings about the plan are that it's moving in the right direction."
The class of 2003 will be the first students affected by the dorm renovations, as the new facility will finish construction at the beginning of their senior year. Many freshmen, some of whom would be forced to live in Trent, were willing to accept the plan.
"It'll be good in the long run but bad for us," said engineering freshman Jake Palmer.
Other freshmen said the long-term goals of the plan superseded the short-term problems.
"I guess the transitional period will be kind of difficult... but in the long run that's definitely going to be the best thing," said Trinity freshman Paul Fleschner. "Some class is going to have to suffer the consequences. Too bad it has to be ours."
Jaime Levy contributed to this story.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.