Notre Dame Hall is the first choice for Busch Memorial Center offices relocation during renovations that could begin as early as this May. As a result, 71 residents will lose their squatters’ rights and in return receive a high priority in the housing system.
In a situation that began nearly a month ago, Notre Dame residents were officially told Thursday before spring break of the University’s plans for their building-relocation of current residents to accommodate BMC departments and student groups.
Dan Ellerbrock, Notre Dame senator, said the meeting focused primarily on relocation and accommodation. Approximately 20 residents were in attendance.
As a part of the accommodations, the 71 residents currently living in Notre Dame will receive priority for all residence hall and apartment spaces, aside from any squatters. The 30 credit hour requirement will be waved for freshmen, allowing them to live in apartments for which they could not normally apply.
“I think they got a very adequate compensation,” said Mike Rozier, member of the BMC Renovations Committee and Student Government President-Elect. “There is nothing more we could have done.”
Rozier added, “I feel equally bad for the students not from Notre Dame that have suffered from this decision.”
Ellerbrock thinks that the higher priority is fair. He noted that while it is not fair for students who normally would have had higher priority than the Notre Dame residents in the regular housing process, he thinks that being displaced is more unfair. “In the hierarchy of things, it’s the most equitable,” he said.
Many of the students will be moving into Village and Marchetti apartments, while a few students will be moving to Fusz Hall.
Ellerbrock said he has heard some plans for the residents all moving together. “There is definitely a push for people to stay together, but facility-wise that is difficult,” he said. He said many residents are still trying to stay together in small groups.
One Notre Dame freshman, Lindsay Costlow, was planning to remain in Notre Dame but will now be moving to an apartment in Marchetti with a friend. She said that several of her friends will be trying to live in the same area of the building.
Mary Elizabeth Curtice, Residence Hall Association President, said the residents are getting a good deal for what they have to give up. She said the process mirrored the relocation of DeMattias Hall students when the building converted to Greek Housing and Scholars House when the building was torn down.
“[The Notre Dame residents] gave more than anyone else to make this BMC situation work,” Argyle Wade, director of housing, said. “I think [the housing priority] was a fair trade off.”
Wade added that other students have the option to go back to their current rooms, unlike Notre Dame residents.
David Landreth, a sophomore, was planning to remain in the building, but will now be moving to a Village Apartment quad. “Given what has already happened, I don’t think there was anything else they could do,” he said referring to the higher priority in the housing application process.
Even students not originally planning on remaining in Notre Dame next year have strong feelings about the relocation. They will also benefit from the housing priority.
“People generally aren’t happy about the relocation,” said Jeff Galligan, a sophomore. “It’s really disrupting the community aspect of the building.”
Galligan planned to move to Grand Forest Apartments with two friends prior to the announcment of the future of Notre Dame. His plans have not changed.
Freshman Crystal McKeever and two friends will be claiming one of the only 44 two-bedroom apartments in Marchetti should there be any available after squatters. Marchetti Towers have a total of 264 apartments
Sophomore Matthew House will be unaffected by the housing priority as he will be living in DeMattias Hall next year. However, he brags about the Notre Dame community: “This is one of the closest communities I’ve seen on campus.”
Costlow said the administration could have done a better job of communication about the whole process. “I really think they’ve chosen to disassemble a community that is more representative of SLU-something they could have promoted,” she said.
Rozier concluded, “I have learned that it’s not enough to be a standalone representative on a committee. As that representative, you need to include all the involved parties in the decision.”
