Charles Village Project needs polishing

Midnight runs for Royal Farms chicken will no longer be in the horoscope for incoming Hopkins students. If all goes according to plan, Hopkins will raze Ivy Hall and begin reconstruction on the Hopkins component of the Charles Village Project in January 2004.

In place of the former 12-apartment dormitory and 24-hour convenience store will be a new brick edifice: an expanded bookstore, a University food court and ten stories of new residence halls.

Construction of the two new buildings, joined over the alley by a glass hallway, will embody the University's evolution into a new age of undergraduate and community synthesis. The new building is scheduled for use in the 2005-6 academic year.

The redevelopment plans represent a sincere University initiative to address the concerns raised in last year's report by the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE).

Students want private bedrooms, more student housing and more retail options in the neighborhood. Floor plans, unveiled by developers last week at the Student Council meeting, reflect these interests. Each suite is comprised of single bedrooms. A new Barnes and Nobles bookstore will be conveniently located downstairs. Down the street on the 3200 blocks of St. Paul St, Struever Bros. developers are independently planning to construct a retail strip below private condominiums.

However, it is too early to pat ourselves on the back and turn our heads. The opportunity remains to tweak the project to perfection, to make "modification" into "masterpiece." The project goes before the Financial Committee of the Board of Trustees the third week of October.

On the outside, the building seeks to mimic local architecture and invoke the tradition of University brick. Unfortunately, it succeeds in being neither impressive nor architecturally beautiful.

The red bricks and white molding remind us of campus and yet somehow incite a tackiness that evades the classic Georgian architecture of Homewood. The flat rectangular windows and industrial, cement curbside flower beds suggest a dated 1970s design. This highly visible addition to campus should allow Hopkins to add tasteful flavor to Charles Village. The building should resonate "classic," not "crude."

On the inside, the new residential hall is designed to remodel the concept of student housing at Hopkins, offering more housing and more housing options.

Starting on the third floor, residence halls will rise to the 10th and 11th floors of both adjoining buildings. The open floor plans unite suites of single bedrooms linked through a common bathroom and kitchenette. Students will enjoy both privacy, security and community.

However, in expanding University housing options, one should not forget that the University has a long-standing tradition of student independence as well. While students may complain of the stress of the upperclassman housing search, they are quick to list the benefits to living off-campus. They enjoy full apartments, full-year leases and full freedom.

What the new residence hall will address is student desires for more safety and proximity to their peers. However, the University can provide these while also maintaining the commodities of independent living that students enjoy in off-campus housing. A kitchenette is not practical with only a sink, microwave and refrigerator. While an oven may not be essential, the University should consider adding stove top burners to the kitchens like in Wolman and McCoy Halls.

As another service to students, the University should take care not to recreate the undergraduate dilemma of nine month leases, which forces students to vacate campus before Commencement. A nine month lease does not promote community. The option for full and multi-year leases gives students the opportunity to settle in and to linger around campus. If students have a permanent home in Baltimore, they are more likely to stay around. Having a feeling of "home" does promote community.

Included in the sense of independent living is the freedom to manage one's own meals. There is a long history of student complaint with the quality of Sodhexo food and the meal plan. StuCo members complained loudly when the administration announced that all residents in the new dormitory will be required to have at least a partial University meal plan.

When students consider their housing options in the future, a compulsory "all-you-can-eat" meal plan will be a discouraging factor. The University should ensure that residential conditions encourage students to pursue the residence halls. Students need not be financially forced into eating together. They would not mind being on the meal plan if the system were more flexible than it is binding. If the quality -- not just the presentation -- of the food were to improve, students would naturally congregate to enjoy good food in a common location.

Understandably, if the food service is to remain as it is now, students feel cheated and exploited. Students complain that Sodhexo food is bad and that they are overcharged for under eating. They resent required flat-fee,"all-you-can-eat meals" if they don't plan on eating a full meal. They prefer their meal points, which allow them the freedom to pay proportionally to how much they eat. Many have already expressed disappointment with the Levering cafeteria renovations, noting that its flasy new look can't hide the same poor food and poor service. Another food court reminiscent of Chuck-E-Cheese will not attract popular following.

A new dining area is the opportunity to bring something new to campus food, not just to recreate the old. Additionally, if the community is to be drawn to mingle with students in a casual eatery, the food must be competitive in quality and price. The eatery should expand upon the limited buffet in the soon-to-be-replaced Wolman Court. There should be fast food options, salad bars, international flavors and quick sandwich counters.

The redevelopment of the Hopkins block presents an enormous potential to tailor the residential experience of future undergraduates. The University should take the opportunity to truly implement every possible improvement not only to bring students together, but to support their independent living and the quality of life for all Charles Village residents.