Over 50 students met Monday night to try to keep East from becoming an all-freshman campus.
"Our goals are to submit an alternate proposal and convince the powers that be [that East should remain as it is,]" said Epworth/Share resident and Engineering senior David Lott. "We like our campus."
This discussion was the first East Campus-wide meeting to develop a plan to keep East from becoming an all-freshman campus, although students in individual dormitories have already been fighting the proposal.
Both University president Nan Keohane and the president of Duke Student Government, Trinity senior Paul Hudson, have said they support the idea of an all-freshman campus.
The administration is considering whether East should house only freshmen or freshmen plus a small number of upperclassmen. The dorm complex currently being built on East would give East enough housing for about 1,600 students -- almost exactly the size of one class.
The Office of Student Development has proposed placing all freshmen on East and building an additional 665 spaces to West to eliminate North Campus.
The organizers of the meeting acknowledged that because the plan to turn East into an all-freshman campus is almost a "done deal," they will have to work hard to persuade the administration to reconsider, said Trinity senior Matt Harkins, president of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and one of the meeting organizers.
The group decided to paint the bridge Sunday night to show their opposition to the proposals and to meet again to formulate an alternative plan to give to the administration.
In December, the Board of Trustees will meet to decide where to build the extra beds. The group's counter-proposal needs to be completed before the meeting, Harkins said.
Placing the entire freshman class on East would isolate them from the rest of the student body, argued many of the students at the meeting. They were opposed to an all-freshman campus, no matter where it is located.
"[This is a] project that creates a junior college on East," said Trinity sophomore Ashley Wilkerson, a Giles resident.
Many students questioned the University's priorities. "Why are the freshmen that aren't even here more important than those that are already here?" Wilkerson asked in a small group discussion after the meeting.
The people fighting for an all-freshman campus are trying to create a wonderful environment for the freshmen while destroying a community that already works, she said.
Students choose to live on East because they like the different pace of life there, many students said.
Trinity sophomore Priyumvada Naik said she lived on West for the first semester of her freshman year and then moved to Jarvis because she was "miserable" living on West. She said she had to turn her stereo up to drown out the fraternity noise and had to dodge broken glass in the mornings.
Interaction among students was a major concern of many at the meeting. People are easier to meet on East than on West, Naik said.
Trinity sophomore Carly Moran said she always sees people she recognizes in the East Campus Union and can go up and talk to them. "The people [on East] are friendlier," she said after the meeting.
Money may also be an issue, students said, because housing on East Campus is generally cheaper than housing on West.
"None of us are going to say [moving freshmen to East] is a perfect plan," but it is the best option, Hudson said. Originally, he was against the plan but said he supports it after he heard all the facts.
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