The Trident

Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: News

Media Credit: W&L Communications

The Baker-Davis-Gilliam residential halls may soon be home to something like professor's offices instead of freshman dorms. Plans are in the works to one day have all freshmen live in only Gaines and Graham-Lees, and to build more housing for upperclassmen near Woods Creek.

This is all part of the strategic plan that Washington and Lee creates every ten years, said Dean of Students Dawn Watkins. The newest strategic plan, which was formed in May 2007, outlines goals and plans for the school. These include several plans that are already in action, such as renovating the Colonnade, constructing a center for Jewish life, and building an additional sorority house.

The next step in the plan is to renovate underclassmen housing, says Watkins. The plan is to change Gaines into freshman-only housing, and remodel the layout of the building so that it resembles more of a freshman residence hall. Architects are already drawing plans to get rid of the suite-style rooms and create floor layouts that would mirror the hall style of the current freshman residence buildings.

Graham-Lees will also be completely renovated, and the improvements that top the list are the installment of air-conditioning and an elevator. The floor layout will also be changed so that the rooms are more 'user-friendly'- the weird rooms that seem to be more of a closet than a dorm room will be gone.

Watkins believes that freshman living will become much more cohesive by combining the freshmen into just two residential buildings. Many freshmen used to feel isolated if they got placed in a residential building other than Graham-Lees, and this plan is designed to change that.

New housing for upperclassmen will be built somewhere in the Woods Creek area, and will be apartment-style, much like the existing Woods Creek Apartments. These apartments will be built before Gaines becomes a freshman-only zone, so upperclassmen will not be discouraged from living on campus.

The current state of the economy will not hinder their plans, says Watkins, because when the plan was made all the money was budgeted and allocated accordingly.

Watkins also discussed possible plans to better connect Graham-Lees with Gaines, by somehow creating a grassy courtyard between them. Watkins herself had the idea to put in a sand volleyball court as the center of this freshman courtyard.

No current students at W&L will see these plans during their remaining years as undergraduates. These plans will likely not be put into place for another five to seven years. Coming first are the building of the Hillel house this fall and the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house in the fall of 2011.

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