Davis Hall’s days are numbered. In the most recent report on the university’s 10-year strategic plan, there is a line item on page 74 about Davis Hall, the first-year dormitory building across from Morton Hall, and its imminent replacement. Rumors about Davis’ future have been circulating for weeks prior to the announcement following hesitance on the initial placement of RAs in Davis. Though Residential and Dining Services initially rebuked the claim, an upcoming renovation seems possible in the next few years. This has been leaving many students concerned over the implications of this decision and wondering what will take the beloved dorm’s place.
Davis is currently planned to be replaced by another new tower, described officially as a “multipurpose building” and which is currently in the design phase. This one appears to be best described as a hybrid between the current residential towers and Babbio, with this building including “dry research and teaching labs, classrooms, faculty offices and residential spaces.” The potential for more space for students to live on campus alongside easy access to classrooms and faculty in the same building is appealing to many. The current plan has goals of being increasingly “green” in an attempt to reduce the environmental impact of the university. The school is “[exploring] …geothermal heating and cooling, mass timber construction, solar panels and non-fossil fuel burning equipment.” This is all fantastic news for the student community.
The concerns of the imminent change are not unfounded. The student housing shortage is widely remarked upon in the student community. Since only first-years are guaranteed housing, the battle for space is constantly present among upperclassmen. The situation was temporarily relieved by the opening of the South and Harries tower, which provides housing to upperclassmen, prioritizing second years. Everyone else either has to find housing through third parties like Hudson Dorms or take the apartment-hunting challenge upon themselves. The intention of the newly planned tower is to use the space the school has more effectively and mitigate the housing crisis. However, it comes at a cost to the rest of the undergraduate population.
The upcoming destruction of Davis Hall means that one of two things is going to happen in the coming years: Either fewer students will be admitted to the school, or on-campus housing will be reconfigured to fit all the freshmen required to live at Castle Point. Given the university-wide aims for growth, the latter is much more likely than the former. Davis Hall currently holds 212 first-years, and the UCC towers are capable of holding 1,000 students at a time. Though unconfirmed by the school, it is not impossible to expect that displacement of upperclassmen could occur, since though second-year students are prioritized, they are still not guaranteed a spot in the towers. Incoming first-year students are guaranteed on-campus housing, so they would not be relegated to outside housing. Right now, not everyone can have a spot in the residential towers. With a potential decrease in space by 212 students’ worth of housing units, the fight for space may be even more brutal than anticipated.
As housing selection looms closer and closer this coming April, students may have to take these changed circumstances into account. If Davis would be facing the wrecking ball prior to the 2024-2025 academic year, it is expected to see an official notification from administration in the next few months. Regardless, changes are expected before 2032 according to the university’s 10-year strategic plan.
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