When I first read about the K4 dormitory project, I thought my mind must have been playing tricks on me in the heat. Building a brand new dorm? I thought. That’s a funny thing to do during a construction freeze.
But buried within a Feb. 3 Chronicle article, there’s a telling quote from Joe Gonzalez: “In essence, these beds pay for themselves.”
Apparently the moratorium doesn’t apply because the project brings in new revenue from 150 more upperclassmen living on West, which will cover construction costs. And presumably, after they’ve covered construction costs, they’ll continue to make money for Residence Life and Housing Services. So what’s the real motivation behind K4? Is it to improve the residential experience on West Campus? To experiment with new housing models ahead of the construction of New Campus? Or is this just another case of University decision-makers chasing dollar signs to Kunshan and back? These questions filled my head as I left the sauna.
When I say “sauna,” I’m referring to my room in Craven. I love Craven Quadrangle for many reasons (not the least of which is that my favorite English soccer team, Fulham, play their matches in a stadium called Craven Cottage), but the dorm’s aging facilities are not one of its selling points.
For example, my room has two temperature settings—hot and cold. Leave the radiator on too long and the room becomes an oven; leave the radiator off and the room becomes an icebox. I’ve been told that the secret to achieving a compromise, the elusive “warm” setting that didn’t exist 20 years ago, is to open the window directly above the radiator while it remains on. Now I may not be the greenest person on the planet—I’m guilty of the occasional long shower or light switch left on in an empty room—but I just can’t bring myself to pump energy out the window like that.
I’m not sure how old the radiator is, but the valve was made in Indianapolis, Indiana by Hoffman Specialty Co. According to the company’s Web site, production of Hoffman Specialty parts moved to Chicago in 1988, so at the very least the valve is 21 years old. Some of the radiators across the quad have likely been replaced and repaired over the years, but the whole quad could use an update for energy efficiency and for the comfort of students.
Duke does not traditionally lag on the environmentalism front; in fact, Duke has a reputation as a leader and innovator in the field. Kilgo Quadrangle’s renovations made it the first LEED-certified dormitory in the country. Round two of the Few restorations included energy savers that didn’t require any thought or effort from students: timed lights in the closets and motion-sensing lights in the hallways. Furthermore, the Home Depot Smart Home speaks for itself, and the Nicholas School of the Environment is regarded as among the best environmental schools in the country.
And yet, Craven, Crowell and most of the East Campus dorms are still waiting their turn for renovations. We’ve seen low-flow shower heads installed during the drought and hand sanitizer dispensers installed during the swine flu pandemic, but without a crisis these dorms haven’t seen environmentally conscious changes.
There is room for inexpensive improvement in every building. In my last two rooms on campus (the current room in Craven and a room in the just-renovated Few), several of the window panes were loose. They would rattle as the winter winds blew in, and the drafts made the heating system work a lot harder to keep the room at the set temperature. More careful caulking of the windows, thereby keeping the heat and air conditioning in the room, is just one example of a quick fix that can save energy and money.
Taking care of the buildings we have may not generate new revenue, but as the saying goes, a penny saved is a penny earned (unless you invested all your pennies in mortgage-backed securities or Madoff investments). Achieving LEED certification is an expensive endeavor, but green renovations without the fancy label are very possible, and the savings from small changes can add up in the long run. No matter what you think about the environment, there’s no denying that energy costs money, and using less energy means spending less money. And the $1,000 to $1,500 premium the University charges for rooms with air conditioning doesn’t hurt the bottom line, either.
So if RLHS is willing to lift the construction freeze for K4, maybe they ought to put renovations back on the table. They might just pay for themselves.
Bradford Colbert is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Tuesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.