Campus Council members discussed changing the current quadrangle model on West Campus into a house model at its general body meeting Thursday night.
The discussion was a continuation of the council's conversation with Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, about the Campus Culture Initiative last week.
Facilities and Service Chair Hasnain Zaidi, a junior, pointed out the structural division within the quadrangle and the constant turnover of the resident body as reasons why it is hard to foster a sense of community on West.
Zaidi proposed the reduction of the current quadrangle units into smaller houses-perhaps dividing each space into four units-to help bring residents closer together.
Some members said this new model might bring more of a sense of community to the residents and help facilitate communications between residents and quadrangle representatives.
"If it is smaller, then it will be less decentralized and easier for the representatives of each house to reflect the opinions and needs of the residents," said sophomore Molly Bierman, president of Kilgo Quadrangle Council.
Other members, however, said it is not the housing model that restricts residents' interactions but individuals' attitudes.
"When students come to West, they already have their niche of friends and they don't branch out," said sophomore Daniel Piech, an at-large representative. "Maybe we can encourage people to leave their doors open more and foster more of an East atmosphere."
Sophomore Emma Boston, an at-large representative, said she is worried that if a house model is applied, further separation will be created on West. "There's already the greeks and the selective [living groups]. If we add houses, we're dividing the campus up," she said.
Treasurer Ashley Gray, a senior, said the constant change in the resident body does not allow a strong community to be formed.
"Every year the residents have to re-create something new because there is no legacy within the houses," Gray said. "The new students have no sense of what [the house was] like before."
Campus Council President Jay Ganatra, a senior, said another important factor to consider is the placement of commons rooms within the quadrangle.
"On East, as soon as you walk in you'll see the commons room," he said. "It's a lot more likely that they'll drop in and hang out for a while."
The location of commons rooms will be taken into consideration when renovations are made on West, Ganatra said, adding that it is difficult to find the opportune spot due to the structural restrictions of the buildings.
Campus Council is currently planning to sponsor monthly individual quadrangle activities throughout West simultaneously to help bring students together. The series of events, which will include barbeques, is scheduled to start Oct. 20.
In other business:
The announcement of the decision about the possible relocation of some selective living groups to accommodate new faculty-in-residence on West was on the agenda. Eddie Hull, dean of residence life and executive director of housing services, however, was unable to attend and the announcement has been held off until next week.
Members passed a resolution commending the Residents Life and Housing Services for refunding rent credit to residents of Evens Quadrangle 3A and 3B in response to the termination of their cooling service Sept. 4.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.