We cannot isolate conversation about Senior House because the issue of housing is part of a system that affects the Institute across the boundaries separating matters related to housing, enrollment and tuition revenue. Each of these components is administered by a separate part of the Institute. Enrollment numbers affect housing; decrease enrollment and issues of crowding become less critical, but the income stream from tuition decreases. While obvious, these facts mean that some of the options offered in this report are not the expected responses to the question: "What do we do about Senior House?" For example, the implications of taking Senior House off line for a year are mitigated if enrollment in the freshman class declines. BUT next year even with Senior House on line, we anticipate crowding in the 190 range. Crowding as an issue at the undergraduate level is a primary influence on our recommendations.
It is a fact that currently we have an existing structural imbalance in our housing system. The demand exceeds our housing stock. This occurs at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. For graduate students MIT has long maintained a goal of housing 50% of our enrolled students. We have reached only the 30% level. For undergraduates we promise housing for all entering students and guarantee it for eight terms. In the current system we have a pain threshold at about 135 crowds. Beyond that it really hurts the undergraduate experience, i.e., common space is appropriated, rooms become unbearably crowded, etc. In addition there is no financial or other incentive to uncrowd. Your rent is actually less if you are in a crowded room; some of these rooms are crowded each year so there is a sense of normalcy to living in these circumstances. This has the unintended consequence of a decline in revenue in our housing income stream. The time of greatest stress on the system is during the first five weeks of the fall term; housing is in flux during this time and we have less reliable data than we will have later in the year.
It is a fact that housing for a given year must be available by August 15; later availability is not helpful since students will have made other arrangements. Senior House currently houses 169 students and Ashdown houses 420 students. Huntington Hall gave us 60 undergraduate beds plus space for tutors. The Huntington Hall option will not be available in the fall of 1995. Given current enrollment levels and assuming a normal rush, that means in the fall of 1995 we will see crowds well above the pain threshold as defined by Dean Art Smith. The numbers could be approaching 200 crowds.
It is a fact that Senior House needs to be renovated. All parties--students, administration, other constituents, aware of the state of the building recognize that work needs to be done to improve the living environment. The building is not fully ADA compliant. In 1992 renovations were made at a cost of $450,000 just in order to keep the building on line. Given the lack of an overarching plan these renovations illustrate the costs of shortsighted policy. It needs also to be noted that while the systems in Senior House are old and outdated, they are not in imminent danger of failing, i.e., the heat works if you are willing to keep your windows open as a means of moderating its excesses!