Far, far away in a little-known part of town is Schuyler House — a dormitory near downtown Ithaca that most upperclassmen have never even heard of. Housed in Schuyler is a contingent of students without a dining hall, whose neighbors are local Ithacans, and who trudge 20 minutes uphill every day to get to class. Unfortunately, these students are not upperclassmen, embracing the independent Collegetown lifestyle. Instead, these 110 students are some of the most marginalized of students at Cornell: transfers.

In the 1900s, the Cornell student body was housed entirely in fraternities and boarding houses — no real dormitories existed. According to Cornell: Glorious to View, a history of Cornell written by Profs. Carol Kammen and Walter LaFeber, both history, Andrew Dickson White, Cornell’s founder and first president, believed students should board themselves. Clearly times have changed. The Class of 2013 enters Cornell with a plethora of housing options, ranging from traditional residence halls to more specialized program houses. Let’s review some of the facts, figures and follies of the 10 traditional halls:

Balch Hall

When I first arrived at Cornell as a sophomore transfer, I was entirely convinced that the University hated me. I found orientation to be completely disorienting. I was absolutely befuddled as to which orientation activities were for transfers, which were for freshmen and which were for both. I was also thoroughly lost. Weaving around the rampant construction on West Campus, I went through a couple of campus maps as I frantically deciphered building codes trying to find out where on earth the Transfer Center was supposed to be. To make matters worse, the weather was decidedly fickle, and I had yet to discover the wisdom of carrying an umbrella on my person at all times.

On March 2, 2009 at a forum to discuss the Asian and Asian American Center (A3C), President Skorton, in response to a question about the future of program houses and safe spaces suggested that “program houses have to show enough interest to justify those expenses.” Skorton’s statement that students “should vote with their feet” is a popular argument used to hold students solely accountable for the future of their resources in a manner that absolves the University of its responsibility to preserve those resources. An issue as complex as program houses cannot be addressed with a dismissive attitude.

To the Editor:

Re: “A Heightened Sense of Urgency: City Policy Endangers Collegetown Development,” Opinion, March 30.

Collegetown has long been a part of Ithaca and the culture of student life at Cornell. For many of us we have grown to love this neighborhood as a home away from home. Chris Basil ’10 and Ryan Lavin ’09 were absolutely correct in saying that we must be concerned with the City of Ithaca’s policy regarding Collegetown’s development. The Common Council’s proposed policy changes will hinder the growth and development of Collegetown creating problems for landlords, permanent residents and the growing student population.

Tasked with unprecedented demand and no new beds, Cornell Housing (CH) faces great challenges in the coming years to place all students who so desire into on-campus housing.

And that is exactly how this article would start if it were a news item. However, this is my space, so I would like to give my angry opinion on the matter.

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.

Last week’s housing lottery highlighted concerns over whether the West Campus housing system is evolving into an increasingly two-tiered hierarchy of living options. While many students were satisfied with their assignment to rooms in the new dormitories, those assigned to the Gothics expressed concern over a mounting discrepancy between their accommodations and those provided to their peers.

Proponents of the new residential initiative argue that the house system has positively influenced the overall quality of living on West Campus, but some students are concerned that the Gothics have been left behind by the initiative.

This is the first article in a series analyzing how various aspects of campus life impact Cornell’s collective commitment to sustainability.

Have you ever opened your window in the winter time to cool down an overheated dorm room, or left the lights turned on even though you left your room for several hours?

These types of environmentally unsustainable decisions “have both economic and environmental impacts,” according to Student Trustee Mike Walsh grad, a member of the President’s Climate Commitment Implementation Committee.

Anshul Kumar ’09, a Jameson R.A., considers himself “fairly conscientious” about energy consumption; he turns off lights when not using them, turns the heater down when leaving for breaks and does not use full pressure in the shower.