In the effort to invent a new identity since graduate students left the Graduate Living Center, the Office of Residential Life changed the name of GLC to Southside Apartments. ResLife encourages students to explore living in Southside next year to continue this change from a graduate to an undergraduate identity for the dorm. Southside indeed has many great qualities.
The Southside suites perfectly suit freshmen students who all become friends in their halls but do not know how to stay together. There is also the $200 discount on the housing rate. And in lieu of a hall council, a Community Organizing Group has been developing activities to build the a spirit of camaraderie among the residents. Open House tours are currently being given to students who have not seen these living facilities. Additionally, the massive suites, though standing to benefit from a good blast of color, come complete with full kitchen and bath. The Southside Apartment Complex is definitely a viable alternative to Anderson and Wilder.
However, there are still serious drawbacks to living in Southside – namely the unreliable bussing situation and the lack of dining. Although the walk from Southside to the main campus is equivalent to what many people who attend a larger college walk everyday, students here are used to a short commute to campus and therefore Southside residents rely on an infrequent RTS bus system. Perhaps a shuttle system that runs a continuous loop from Southside to ITS should be implemented.
In addition, students living in Southside are required to choose from the same meal plans as students who live in the rest of the buildings on campus, yet there is no convenient dining center for Southside residents. ResLife should be working with Dining Services to build some type of caf or dining hall in or around Southside. This would be a huge selling point for students considering living out there.
In an attempt to lure students to the distant towers, ResLife needs to understand that no amount of promotion can erase the fact that Southside needs a major makeover in more than just name alone.
