{"id":931,"date":"1985-05-02T15:55:11","date_gmt":"1985-05-02T22:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/?p=931"},"modified":"2016-09-19T15:55:50","modified_gmt":"2016-09-19T22:55:50","slug":"a-heart-beats-for-upperclass-dorm-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/?p=931","title":{"rendered":"A Heart Beats for Upperclass Dorm Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A HEART BEATS FOR UPPERCLASS DORM LIFE<\/p>\n

Nassau Weekly Article (5\/2\/85)<\/p>\n

By Randy Schoenberg<\/p>\n

Assistant Dean of Students Patsy Cole, in her first year at Princeton, is at the heart of a new effort to improve upperclass residential life. She calls her plan \u201cPULSE\u201d and she expects it to add a new dimension to dormitory living. PULSE is designed to bring students together, to develop a sense of community in the dorms, and to establish a communication link between students and administration that will facilitate the quick resolution of housing problems. To enact her plan, Cole has solicited the opinions and service of various members of the University community, the Maintenance Office, the Housing Office, Building Services, the Residence Committee and interested upperclassmen. Together they have drawn up broad guidelines for PULSE, which will begin next year.<\/p>\n

Bob Sweeney, the Dorm Manager of Building Services, explains some of the impetus behind the creation of PULSE. \u201cIt seems that with [the students\u2019] evolution from the residential colleges to upperclass housing, they lose something. They can make it more than just the humdrum dorms they have now. They can have a social life and the common spaces that they have in the first two years and not in the last two.\u201d Although the complete structure has not yet been fully worked out, certain features of PULSE are certain: in the fall, each dorm will select representatives and possibly a dorm council. The number of representatives will depend on the size of the building, but most dorms will have two. Those representatives will communicate closely with the PULSE administrators and will be responsible for checking on common areas and turning in maintenance checklists. The representatives will also be able to organize dorm social events, made possible with money from PULSE. The number of PULSE activities will depend solely on the amount of interest in the dorms.<\/p>\n

To introduce the program, PULSE is sponsoring a party for the classes of \u201986 and \u201987, next year\u2019s juniors and seniors. The party, which will feature music and free ice cream, is scheduled for May 9, from 3:00 to 5:00 in the courtyard behind Blair Arch next to the U-Store. In order to attract students to the party, Cole has begun a publicity campaign which includes posters with no message, just the organization\u2019s symbol and the name\u2014PULSE. So far, the acronym has no meaning except to connote something which is, as Cole puts it, \u201calive and beating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on a similar plan at Brown called \u201cGrassroots,\u201d PULSE is designed to foster interaction between students and administrators so that student needs can be better satisfied. Cole describes it as \u201ca way to enhance communication, a network. It\u2019s a way to make certain that administrators know what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The checklists serve two functions. First, they will provide a sure method of communication with the Maintenance and Building Services by providing a continuous report on the condition of dorm common areas. Second, they provide the Residence Committee with documentation to back up their recommendations for housing improvement. \u201cThe idea,\u201d explains Cole, \u201cis that students feel that they have a direct ear on the administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany students are unsure of how to get things done in the common areas, bathrooms, hallways, and kitchens,\u201d explains Judy Hanson, Director of Grounds and Building Maintenance Department. \u201cPULSE\u201d gives students people to contact, and gives us students to contact.\u201d But the checklists are not meant to be the first resort. \u201cPULSE does not preclude existing systems,\u201d says Cole. \u201cThe students should at least call Housing or Maintenance. Then if it is put on the checklist, we know that they have already called and the problem still exists.\u201d Hanson echoes this concern. \u201cWe still expect students to take responsibility for their own rooms. We have a fairly responsive system right now for routine problems. We\u2019re really trying to improve the give and take. It\u2019s an educational process for both sides.\u201d The most notable improvement will be student responsibility for the common areas, so that if anything happens there, the proper administrators will be notified.<\/p>\n

But Cole is mostly excited about the possibilities for enhancing dorm environment in less tangible ways. \u201cMy hope is that people will get to know other people, and think of their dorms as homes. It always surprises me that people who even live next door to one another don\u2019t know each other by name.\u201d Katherine Fritts, a junior who became involved with PULSE after many conversations with Cole on maintenance problems, agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s not meant to put responsibility or work on anyone. It\u2019s just to make people happier. I think it\u2019s strange that you see people in your dorms and you don\u2019t know their names. Dorm representatives will be able to get money for special dorm events. Cole hopes that this will provide the opportunity for people to meet and get involved with each other. \u201cIt has the potential for active involvement. I see it as a means of bringing people together in the cause of making the dorm a positive place to live.\u201d Fritts believes that establishing the structure of dorm activities will be all that is needed to establish a greater sense of community. \u201cThe whole idea is that people do what they want to do. They can go to a play or movie, have parties, popcorn\u2014anything except alcohol. We assume that people, if they have money, will figure out ways to use it. We are just building a structure so that people can do what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the things Cole thinks that students might want is computers. \u201cHaving computers in the dorms becomes more possible through a program like this. If we make people responsible, they will keep an eye on the computers. There\u2019s a greater chance that they\u2019ll be aware of what\u2019s happening in their dorm. I hope that within the next couple of years, we\u2019ll be able to install computers in the upperclass dorms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another addition to the dorms which Cole thinks will be more feasible with the PULSE network is a common room. \u201cWe have entryways and not many common places in which to gather. Some time down the road we\u2019ll have to look into common spaces.\u201d Cole believes the checklists make it more likely that these changes can be made. \u201cThe checklists are a vehicle to document the need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success or failure of these programs will depend on the involvement of the students. \u201cWe hope to have some money available for dorms,\u201d says Cole, \u201cso they can put on programs for themselves to develop a sense of community. The beauty of this program is that it\u2019s completely dependent on the relative effort that students put in themselves. And it doesn\u2019t take that much effort. The only strings attached are that students keep us informed of things. If the students put in a little effort, we in the administration can go a lot further in helping them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fritts thinks that once people begin to get involved, others will follow. \u201cIt\u2019s not meant to be anything that\u2019s imposed on anyone. Hopefully, people will use it for good things, and others will see that things can be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the ice cream party on May 9, Cole will ask for students who are interested in being dorm representatives to put their names down on a list. These volunteers will be contacted over the summer and the selection of dorm representatives will begin as early as freshman week. If all works out as Cole envisions, a new dimension will be added to upperclass social life. Cole hopes that at the very least, PULSE will provide students with a structure for contacting appropriate administrators about dorm maintenance and improvement. The potential for improvement is immense; the only limitation is the ingenuity and interest of upperclass students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A HEART BEATS FOR UPPERCLASS DORM LIFE Nassau Weekly Article (5\/2\/85) By Randy Schoenberg Assistant Dean of Students Patsy Cole, in her first year at Princeton, is at the heart of a new effort to improve upperclass residential life. She … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":932,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions\/932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoenblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}