Whitman Renovations Cause Move Out
With the conclusion of renovations to Lee Hall being completed shortly, the next stop is Whitman Hall, the last of the first-year dorms on campus yet to be renovated. This is welcome news now, but it also means that those currently living in Whitman need a place to go. The dorm will be under construction for this upcoming semester and onward until its completion hopefully at the end of the spring.
Whitman is an interesting case, as it houses both upperclassmen and first-year students in the same building. To accommodate for this factor and to expedite the move-out process several solutions have been put into place. One of the central solutions is two designated move-out date ranges for students impacted by the renovations. “We did one of these last year as well and thankfully that went smoothly. The timing of this one, we wanted to be especially aware that some students may have exams up until the end of the week,” noted Senior Associate Director of Campus Activities and Residential Engagement Stacy Olney LaPierre. “That’s why we have the two move windows.”
Evident of the difficult time for moving, students have had differing positions on when they would want to conduct their move. “I plan to move definitely before, I think the beauty of doing it before is you get to come back from winter break and be all set,” noted Whitman resident Mary Gengras ’28. Gengras also noted that she does see reasons for choosing the other time slot as well and that it just comes down to personal preference.
Given the timing of the move, before and after winter break, snow and cold also pose a potential problem. To remedy this, the use of SLU vans has been posed as an option for students. “If you have your stuff ready to go, you can just throw it in the van, this will help students who don’t have their own vehicles to transport their belongings to their new dorm,” said Associate Dean of Student Life and Community Engagement Christopher Marquart.
While many students do have cars, there are still just as many who do not have personal vehicles, and this is where the SLU vans can come in handy. “Yeah, I think definitely, I’d either have people help me carry things or use a vehicle to do that, so I definitely would,” said current Whitman resident Alin Brdar ’28.
Whitman residents will for the most part stay with their floors as well. This is to hopefully keep student’s first-year program groups together as much as possible. While first-years can relocate in the second semester away from their first-year program group, many do find friends there and choose to stay. “It will take time to adjust as there will be new faces around because now I am used to who I see on a daily basis, but because we are moving as a group that will help,” noted Brdar.
Overall, students are generally at ease with the move out of Whitman. While it is not ideal, it was something many had expected to be coming. “I guess I would say content. I don’t think they are outraged by the move,” noted Lacey Eckert ’26, a community assistant in Whitman South. “I know this is something that didn’t come out of nowhere, it has been kind of floating around, so I think that helped,” said Eckert.
Now, only time will tell how the Whitman move-out goes and what the reception is of the ‘new Lee’ and other dorms from students who will be moving out in the coming weeks.