To the Editor:

Re: “A Quick Fix to the Cost of Living,” Opinion, March 11

I am writing in response to the article and editorial regarding the Student Assembly’s recent resolution to scale undergraduate housing rates.

Cornell’s Gothic residences are among our most cherished facilities, integral to Cornell’s rich history. I appreciate students’ concerns about perceived discrepancies between the Gothics and the newer buildings on West Campus. However, our current rate structure was created in close collaboration with student leaders and with support from the Cornell community. We strongly believe that this rate structure promotes equity and community on campus, and embodies the spirit of the West Campus House System.

As recently as 1998, Campus Life had more than 120 separate room rates for undergraduate housing. Through a year-long planning process, Campus Life staff members, in close collaboration with the Student Assembly, the Campus Life Student Advisory Committee, the Residence Hall Association (now known as the Residential Student Congress) and the West Campus House System Council, concluded that this approach actually created inequities among student populations. Consequently, our current rate structure was introduced beginning in Fall 2001, offering uniform rates for all singles, doubles and triples.

Our goal is to create a supportive, enriched living environment in which all students have the same access to programs and amenities. This is a particularly important priority for the Houses on West Campus. We believe that returning to a more scaled housing rate structure would be divisive to the community, and encourage disparity between students according to economic circumstances.

Over the past five years, the university has spent more than $400,000 per Gothic building on renovations, with future improvements planned. In Fall 2009, the House System will have incorporated all of the Gothics, and all West Campus residents will have equal access to facilities and programs, either in their own building or in an adjacent structure.

The Housing Master Plan Project that is currently underway is intended to offer us a comprehensive analysis of current housing facilities and an identification of student interests, concerns and needs. We welcome student feedback on this report as we continue to work toward accomplishing Cornell’s goals to foster an excellent student residential experience.

LeNorman Strong

Assistant Vice President

Student and Academic Services