The structure of residential life at Duke may soon change in a far more drastic way than the construction of a new building.
At its meeting Thursday, Campus Council discussed the reintroduction of the “house model,” which is a residential system in which students are divided into small communities, or “houses,” and have the right to return to that location for the remainder of their undergraduate career.
“This is something really important for this year,” said Campus Council President Stephen Temple, a senior. “We’re going to put a lot of energy into this.”
Junior Leslie Andriani, Campus Council treasurer, said the University hopes to transition to this “house model” by Fall 2012. The University operated under the “house model” until 2002, when it converted to the “quad model,” currently in place on West Campus. The “quad model” does not guarantee students the same location from year to year.
The council also presented plans to form a House Model Student Working Group.
“The hope here, with the working group, is to ensure students’ voice—and lots of it—going into the transition to the ‘house model,’” Temple said.
HMSW Group co-Chairs Andriani and Campus Council Vice President John Pryor, a senior, will appoint four at-large members to the group. Other members will include Temple and representatives from the Interfraternity Council, Selective House Council, the Inter-Greek Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
The HMSW Group will work closely with the previously established House Model Working Group, a separate committee of administrators and students. The committee, which is co-chaired by Joe Gonzalez, associate dean of Residence Life and Housing Services, and Donna Lisker, associate dean of undergraduate education, includes Temple, Andriani and Duke Student Government President Mike Lefevre, a senior.
Applications for the HMSW group will go out within the next two weeks, and the group should be finalized by the end of this month, Andriani said.
“The goal is to get the word out about the house model and how residential life at Duke is going to change,” she said. “We will be able to gauge perspective and give insight to administration [and] that insight is going to help us form the best residential structure.”
As for the details of the “house model” itself, Gonzalez said there will be various subcommittees to the HMSW group, which will supplement decision making and ideas about the transition to the new model.
“[The HMSW group will] implement new levels of the house model that brings continuity, community and student self governance that is equally available to all students,” he added.
In other business:
Through a collaboration between Campus Council and the Office of Information Technology, students will be able to report poor cell phone service through an online survey. The survey will focus only on residential areas, Temple said.
Campus Council is also sponsoring the Homecoming Pep Rally Sept. 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. on Main West Quadrangle. The band Fastball will perform at 5:15 p.m., said Programming Chair Betsy Klein, a junior.
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