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Groundbreaking multi-million dollar renovations to join Elder Hall and Hinman-Lincoln Hall will create the first Northwestern residential community next fall.</p>
<p>Construction will begin Spring Quarter, said William Banis, vice president for student affairs.</p>
<p>We are looking to establish a pilot program and learn from it, he said. It will become a residential college on steroids.
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<p>Excellent news- the Residential College System in place now is fractious and failing for the most part, and by far the most successful college is the largest and least tightly themed (Willard).</p>
<p>I think this is great news! When we visited other colleges, Vanderbilt (mentioned in the article) being one of them, that had residential communities, I could definitely see the positives of this kind of arrangement. The students tour guides raved about it…talking about how they would eat at the professors’ houses, getting to know their families, etc.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if I seem stupid, but I kind of don’t get the point of this. What’s wrong with the way the dorms are?</p>
<p>And arbiter, could you elaborate on what you mean when you say the current residential college system is failing? And what criteria are you using when you say Willard is the most “successful?”</p>
<p>I live in one of the RCs, and I personally think it’s great.</p>
<p>This was great news. Elder was long overdue for renovations. It seems as though this is the beginning of a move to eliminate most traditional dorms and expand the existing residential college system on campus. </p>
<p>And siemprecuriosa - I agree with you. Willard and most of the RCs work great. I’m personally not a fan of “themed” residential colleges, though. From what I read in the Daily, I suspect the RC system will likely be expanding in a “non-thematic” way.</p>
<p>ISRC, PARC, CCS, CCI, all don’t do so well. Member retention is low across the board. Involvement in the dorms is generally low. And the design itself is fundamentally flawed in various ways and hobbled by a micromanaging and misguided administrator in the oversight position.</p>
<p>I could go into more detail, but I don’t want to come off as though I had HUGE problems with it. It’s just flawed and in need of revamping. </p>
<p>(I lived in one of the RC’s I listed above and was on the executive board).</p>
<p>Sounded interesting to me, but as I will most likely never get the chance to live in one, I’ll probably end up looking into one of the res colleges anyway.</p>