TO THE EDITOR:
Every year, a community’s dynamic changes, but it is the diversity of people that makes up the community and contributes to the unique experience that is exclusive to on-campus residents. This diversity comes not just with color, ethnic background, religion or academic interest — it is the experiences that each resident brings that adds to the dynamic of a community that sparks a diverse, engaging living experience for all residents.
To restrict younger students to one type of experience is to directly threaten a community’s dynamic and challenge the democracy of student opinion. It is unfair to restrict a younger student to one type of experience, the assumed “freshman experience” that is commonly crafted as being the first-year South Campus tendency. Every community is unique, and it is not democratic to assume that every resident is seeking the same experience. We do not live in dorms that we can deem as “freshman dorms.” We live in residence halls, so termed because on campus living is a living experience.
It is important to also understand the effects that segregating housing will have on future communities themselves. While the argument is that by separating certain areas for upperclassmen there will be an increase in attraction to staying on campus, treating residents solely as clients is not the solution. “Molding” a community dynamic is not the solution. Every single resident has a role in making a community what it is.
Andrea Pino
Community Governor
Kenan Residence Community
