Sobrato plans to welcome freshmen, sophomores

By Jessica Alway

The decision by the Presidential Council to place freshmen and sophomores in Sobrato has put students and faculty at odds with the Residential Learning Community (RLC) program. Currently a junior and senior dorm, Sobrato will make the change in an effort to turn all RLCs into 4-year living communities.

"Sobrato used to be like a reward for all the juniors and seniors who put up with the nonsense in the dorms for two years," said junior Alison Christian, a current resident of Sobrato who enjoys her home. "It was our space. It is a nice, clean place to live right now, but I don't think it will be the same with freshmen here next year."

Plans, however, to begin the $400,000 to $600,000 renovation are already in place to begin the day students move out for the summer. Devcon, the company that built Sobrato in 2000, will remodel 24 to 25 apartment-style rooms in the building into suite style rooms for freshmen and sophomores.

While the four single rooms will remain unchanged, the communal living room will be walled off and turned into a traditional double, according to Director of Housing and Resident Life Linda Franke. Major appliances in the kitchen, such as refrigerators, stove and oven sets and dishwashers, will also be removed and space remodeled into a study room.

"It is the first step in a major campus master plan," said Franke. "We feel it is very beneficial to have juniors and seniors in RLCs too, so we hope to eventually make all the buildings on campus available to four-year programs. We have been looking into what it would take to bring them all up to standard, and it could take as long as 10 years."

Sobrato was an easy first choice, according to Franke, because the cost of renovation is very reasonable, considering the original cost of Sobrato turned out to be around $18 million and simple elevator repairs can total almost $200, 000.

"I think it is just a big waste of money and space," said Christian. "I actually think it will decrease motivation for RLCs because students will choose an RLC just to be in Sobrato."

The Loyola Learning Community, currently a two-year program housed in McLaughlin, has already been selected to move into the remodeled Sobrato in the fall because both groups share the theme of faith and justice. It will become the second four-year community on campus according to Franke. The Unity community has been available to all four classes since 1991, but the first tailor-made to fit the different classes.

The new Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education Helen Moritz and Franke formally discussed the decision to renovate Sobrato in a special forum with the student senators and the audience last Thursday.

Following their short presentation many students, including sophomore Annie Seal, voiced concerns regarding both the renovation and interaction between underclassmen and upperclassmen.

"I think there is a very large difference between the first two years of college and the last two," said Selak, a member of the Loyola community and the sophomore class president. "Freshmen and sophomores are naturally more focused on the small world of Santa Clara, as juniors and seniors you begin to look outward. I just don't know if all four classes can live together successfully. I know it didn't work well last year when I lived with juniors."

While Moritz agreed that different ages have different needs, she believes that only time will tell if it will work successfully. She said that her office has received a lot of good feedback regarding RLCs from faculty directors and that by in large people are content.

But no office on campus has ever conducted a survey asking for student opinions on RLCs or four-year learning community options.

Many senators and audience members gave Moritz and Franke negative feedback, complaining about personal experience and using examples from friends.

Senior Senator Sarina Passeralli said Thursday that she had personally visited other universities where all four classes lived in the same building and gained a negative impression.

"Those freshmen have a good time," Passeralli said. "You can't expect juniors and seniors to stop going out or drinking in their room, which they can do legally, just because they are living around younger students. It just isn't realistic. Is this really the impression you want to give kids just coming to college? I guess I just don't understand why you are pushing this when you have seen so much negative feedback."

Despite student community objections, RLCs aren't going to disappear from the campus.

"It's too early to declare anything, said Moritz. "I certainly don't see the program as a failure, and I don't see the university backing off on this."