Halla Emmons, Staff Writer–

The introduction of the First Year Quad (FYQ) has left many students, especially sophomores and juniors, with mixed feelings. 

The plan states that starting next semester all first year students will be housed in East Quad. The buildings they will reside in will be Crawford, East, Huffman, and Shepardson halls, and Smith and Shorney will now be residence halls for sophomores and juniors.

Many of the concerns expressed by students have revolved around the varying conditions of the dorms.

“Smith and Shorney are really lacking in terms of amenities,” said Smith Hall resident Elliot Paradise ‘28. “I feel like it’s a needed change, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that freshmen are getting better dorms than sophomores and juniors.”

The plan also includes additions to Smith and Shorney, such as an exercise and computer gaming rooms, and some students are hopeful that these will help make Smith and Shorney more adept.   

This idea to house all first-years in a specific area however, is not a new one.

The Denison University Residence Life Master Plan began in January of 2018 and was the gateway for this decision.

“It wasn’t just about the building of it,” says Nathan Graves, who is the Associate Dean of Student Support and Director of Orientation and First-Year Experience. “It’s about what community is created in a 100% residential campus.”

The master plan was a way for the campus to assess what older halls needed renovations, identifying any demolitions required and trying to, “define a vision for the student experience at Denison,” Graves adds.

The lack of communication with the students is a concern that a lot of the student body has expressed, however students were involved in the process in the form of exit interviews.

“We do exit interviews with every student who departs from our institution for any reason,” Graves said, “I’ve heard that students spoke a lot about how the split quad made the class feel smaller,” referring to the current model for first year housing.

A current Crawford resident, Thomas Blake ‘28, spoke to this.

“It’ll be nice to have all the first years in one quad,” he said. “A lot of my friends are in Shorney and Smith.”

He even wishes that all first years lived in the same area for his first year.

“If Crawford was attached to the back of Shorney and Smith that’d be nice,” Blake said.

The idea of moving freshmen closer together has been expressed by students for many semesters.

Graves thinks back to a first year that shared the idea in a survey asking if it was possible. 

“That’s one example over multiple semesters of this that I’ve heard students say ‘I wish we could all live together,’” Graves said.

Though the proximity is being adjusted for incoming freshmen, the actual buildings seem to be the greatest issue for the sophomores and juniors impacted by the change.

“I don’t understand it,” Blake said, “Why are we getting the first year [buildings]? All the people that are living there just lived there, what if they want a change of scenery or a change of pace?”

“I’ve heard no positive opinions about the First Year Quad yet,” said Paradise, who shares that his biggest concern is that the freshman will have “better” dorms.

Shorney and Smith were recently renovated in the 2020-2021 academic year, however some students prefer dorms on East Quad because of their layouts and suite rooms. 

Graves is open to hearing these student opinions.

“I know that we’re not going to get everything right immediately, but I hope that they know that there are resources and people here who want to get it as close to right as we can,” he said.

Some students think that there are some positive points that are coming with the change.

“I guess it brings the freshman together more and it does improve Smith and Shorney a bit –I guess sophomores would be closer to food too,” Paradise said.

Blake believes that the exercise equipment could be nice because of how far the Mitchell Center is, however, he criticized the gaming equipment.

“It’s just not that enticing,” he said. “It’s not a very sharable activity, if they wanted to entice them they should have a pool table or something, like at Curtis…something that is more friend focused.”

There has been a lot of concern from sophomores and juniors who feel that first years are being prioritized over them. 

Paradise feels that the campus “really cares about the freshmen,” but could not say the same for the sophomores and juniors.

Graves does not want this to be the case.

“I’m looking forward to making sure that sophomores and juniors know that we care about them so much as we did the year before…I think it positively impacts our sophomores and juniors because now we can more intentionally think about the needs of them in the spaces they are occupying,” Graves said. 

He also commented on how change often can affect students.

“Change is not something that people often respond to,” Graves said. “I think we’re creatures of habit, right? I think that initial email did send students to really question what was happening,” Graves said.

Although the change may seem daunting for some, Graves is hopeful for what residential life will look like on campus. 

“We’re going to navigate change together because that’s what Denisonians do,” Graves said.