Uptown Attitude

The University's recent real estate acquisitions in Midtown seemingly indicate an aggressive attitude towards the future of Stern College, and should be applauded as such. Showing the foresight and financial will necessary to plan for a growing student body, the administration has made the requisite investments to ensure that the physical resources keep pace with the constantly expanding student population.

We can only hope that such attitudes are infectious and will spread uptown. While we have not suffered through ignominies the like of having eight women forced to live in the same room, there is a definite sense that the main campus is running out of room.

The Independent Housing Program is a stopgap measure at best. Yes, compared to last year's debacle the program has been running smoothly with minimum fuss. There are no irate parents threatening to lay down in the traffic on Amsterdam Avenue if their son doesn't get moved to a dorm room and students are not attempting to march on Belfer in the quest for toilet paper. Yet the arrangement is unsatisfactory from a long-term standpoint. Students are isolated from their peers on campus. Living in buildings with families and local residents, the ambience of dorm life, a critical component in the college experience, is found to be lacking. From a security standpoint, the buildings cannot be protected with the same degree of confidence that the dorms are.

The solution is obvious and must be implemented with all possible haste. A new dormitory building is needed to cope with the record enrollments that show no sign of abating. The need for the administration to start shopping for real estate uptown is just as pressing, notwithstanding the less glamorous neighborhood.