Despite a name reminiscent of a paradisiacal garden, Edens Quadrangle is not the sought-after destination University officials hoped it could be. Whether this dissatisfaction stems from the quad's distance from Main West campus or the unsightliness of the view from the dormitories' slit windows, many Edens residents agree that there is much room for improvement.
Now, members of the Edens Quad Council have formed a committee charged with reviewing and suggesting amenities and facilities upgrades that could move Edens up in the housing hierarchy. With planning still in the developmental stages, the sky is the limit for the committee, and they are thinking big.
"While the process is still in a very nascent stage, we have entertained ideas from within and outside the quad that range from the ludicrously awesome to the just plain ludicrous," said Garver Moore, president of Edens Quad Council. "We have been instructed that, short of dynamiting and starting over, cost is no object."
Once the Edens Quad Council and Campus Council are finished brainstorming ideas for Edens, they will go to Director of Residence Life and Housing Services Eddie Hull with a proposal.
"I'm very interested in seeing what they come up with," Hull said. "There's a big qualitative difference between the reaction of 'Oh, you have to live in Edens' and 'Oh, you get to live in Edens.' It's that kind of intangible difference that we're trying to understand." Among the ideas that have been put on the table are a bowling alley, spa and weight room. The committee has also considered smaller changes, such as more appropriate signage to name the quad's buildings and the substitution of softer, white fluorescent lights to replace the current orange sodium lights.
"There is not going to be a drastic change from this year to the next," said David Montag, residence coordinator for Edens. "We'll do whatever we can do in the short-run, but the whole process will take a couple of years."
Montag noted that the committee seeks to change students' perceptions of Edens, just as it seeks to change Edens itself. "Students feel that they're forced to live here, as opposed to being able to choose. Some might see it as punitive, which in my opinion is a misperception that's perpetuated by students that lived here before--most likely before the [West-Edens Link] was built," Montag said.
"There really is so much that we offer here, and there are so many opportunities for a great living environment."
Moore, who is also a writer for The Chronicle, said the committee has also considered the beautification and linking of the quad areas to form one large, contiguous quad--an attempt to transform Edens from "unkempt wasteland" to "lush park [or] forest."
This would entail significant renovations, Moore said, including knocking down sections of the retaining walls, constructing bridges over the "lazy river" that runs through the middle of the quad and paring the unrestricted growth on the University Drive side of the quad to increase usable space.
"Edens is a beautiful, beautiful area," said junior Anthony Vitarelli, Campus Council president. "The drainage ditch could be a nice centralized area."
The committee is also discussing the possibility of installing DukeCard access on the fire-escapes--a change Moore said would make it easier for students to move around the buildings.
"As the situation currently stands, a third-floor 1A resident would have to descend three flights of stairs, go to 1B and climb up three more flights in order to visit someone who lives 10 feet away," Moore said, adding that the change could increase the size and extent of the community within the quad.
Montag also noted the possibilities of turning some of the commons rooms into libraries or creating an Edens basketball court or a media room similar to the one in the WEL.
Although Edens Quad Council and Campus Council are open to any suggestions at this time, Vitarelli emphasized the need to strike a balance between changes that are too drastic or too insignificant to make a difference during the housing selection process.
"The entire Duke housing model is predicated on the assumption that all housing is equal. However, pretty basic observation would tell you that student perceptions are not matching up with that," Vitarelli said. "The bottom line with Edens is that you don't want to make a change that's too small that it's a consolation... but you wouldn't want to make it an IMAX theater where anyone would use it but it wouldn't influence housing selection."
Instead, Vitarelli said, the committee is looking to help Edens establish an identity for itself as a quad.
"We're looking for something that will make people say that Edens is their first pick, regardless of the fact that it is relatively far away and regardless of the fact that some of its rooms are smaller," he said, noting that the WEL and Rick's Diner have already set the University on the right track in those efforts.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.