St. Lawrence University students tend to respect the renovated first-year dorms more now in comparison to before the renovations. Since the updates in Lee and Rebert halls, some SLU staff members have noticed a decrease in the reports of vandalism.
“You used to see a bit more upperclassman vandalism as people would go through Lee to go to the townhouses,” said Liam Sullivan, the residential coordinator for first-year and sophomore communities. Sullivan also stated that the students who currently live in Lee use the common areas more than those who lived there before the renovations. “I don’t think that I have ever seen that common space empty since renovating it, and I come through here at all hours of the day,” he said.
Although students sometimes fail to keep these dorms clean, the students who respect the dorms encourage other students to take care of the space. “I see more students holding students accountable,” said Brenna Susice, the facilities manager for residence halls. Susice also stated that after a recent walk-through in Lee, SLU staff did not report any damage to the dorm. “That’s a first in history,” she said.
Many students who currently live in Lee relocated there from Whitman Hall so that Whitman could undergo renovations. Siena Pecora ’28, a first-year student who moved to Lee from Whitman, noticed a difference in the condition of Lee. “I like how clean it is,” she said. “And it never has this awful smell that Whitman always had.” Pecora also mentioned that, unlike Whitman, Lee does not have any mold.
However, Pecora stated that there are issues with the facilities in Lee. “We didn’t have hot water for the first month that we were there.” She also noted that the heaters in Lee do not always work. She hopes that the heating and cooling systems in upper-class dorms will be more reliable.
Some upper-class students who lived in Lee and Rebert before the updates believe that the dorms needed those renovations. “When you walk into that big common room, now you don’t see spills on the floor that are stained, you don’t see disheveled couches that look like they’re 20 years old,” said Lauren Jesmain ’26, who lived in Lee prior to the recent updates. Jesmain reported that she enjoyed living in Lee, but the conditions of the dorm at the time were mediocre. “It wasn’t anything special,” she said.
Before the renovations, Rebert had a reputation for being one of the worst places to live as a first-year student, and its south wing was notoriously nicknamed the “Dirty South.” An upper-class student who lived in Rebert noticed the improved condition of the building. “I wish it looked like that when I lived in it,” said Eben Dorr ’26, who lived in Rebert before the renovations. Dorr mentioned that Rebert was not particularly clean when he lived there. However, he believes that this was mainly due to the students behavior toward the dorm.