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| Heidi Lounge was packed at the town hall meeting Photo by Carlie McCrory |
Price and privacy were the biggest concerns expressed by students at Wednesday’s town hall meeting about the future use of City Vista, an apartment complex recently purchased by Trinity University.
Student Life and the SGA organized the meeting, which attracted over 30 students to have a conversation with the university’s administration.
Dean of Students David Tuttle said the property will be set up like off-campus living, even though it is technically on campus.
Students were most concerned about the cost and privacy of living there. Tuttle said the university administration are currently reviewing City Vista rates, comparing it with prices of comparable apartments and on-campus living, to come up with a price point.
However, the price will largely depend on the amenities students want at the property, such as furnishing, Internet and utilities. Students living at City Vista will not be required to purchase an on-campus meal plan and can share rooms, reducing the room and board cost, Tuttle said.
“As we hammer out the specifics we ask for your patience,” Tuttle told the students. “How it looks in the first year may not be how it looks in future years.”
In terms of student privacy and freedom, Tuttle said the university wants to be more hands-off with future City Vista residents.
There will be two Student Life administrators and possibly some student staff members living on the property to oversee the care of the facilities. TUPD will be on call as a response system but will not be patrolling hallways. At the same time, university policies about student conduct will remain, such as respect for others, policies on assault and hazing.
However, Tuttle said the campus hard liquor ban is unlikely to carry over, “I don’t know how we would do that.” There will be non-Trinity student lease holders in the building till 2018.
Priority registration will be given to current juniors, based on credit hours. The registration process will start in March, but Residential Life Director, Melissa Flowers, who also was at the town hall, said that could be subject to change, depending on how and when the details about policies are decided.
Students who are on disciplinary probation will not be allowed to register for the property. Recent changes of conduct board policy allow students on probation to appeal and possibly have the probation revoked.
Flowers went on to say that in the coming school year, around 70% of the units will be available to students, possibly more.
Tuttle said that he wants the property to be a community, “we want people up there to take care of each other. We want the people up there to take care of the property.”
Lavanya Hospeti, a junior senator on SGA, said the forum a success. “The forum was incredibly productive and shed a lot of light on the concerns that many students have regarding the new residential opportunity,” she said. “Additionally, I think that the forum cleared up a lot of misconceptions such as the level of involvement of TUPD and Reslife, as well as the availability of a meal plan.”
SGA and Student Life would like feedback from students about City Vista. Feedback can be sent to sga@trinity.edu; questions can also be brought to the nacho hour on Wednesdays, in Coates Center, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
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