|
On the Campus: October 25, 1995
Poe Court Ain't Po'University's makeshift solution for overcrowding brings modular suites to campusBy Jeremy L. Caplan '97 GENIA GURARIE SOMETIMES REGRETS volunteering to live in a trailer on Poe Court. When the third batch of drunken revelers came banging on his trailer late last Saturday night, for example, the sophomore wished he was back in the quiet confines of his dormitory last year, the Class of 1938 Hall. At most other times, though, he says he is happy to have what he calls his "super suite." "We've got a fridge, nice carpeting, two bathrooms, great air-conditioning . . . what else could you want?" Like many of his Poe Court neighbors, Gurarie has begun to love life in what students call "the barracks." And like his neighbors, Gurarie is a housing recruit-he was offered a $1,000 rebate on his $2,790 housing bill to live in one of the 10 trailers on Poe Court. Along with 33 of his classmates, he accepted. The odd situation arose when 60% of the admitted applicants from the Class of 1999 decided to matriculate (the previous high was 57%), meaning the university would have to house about 50 extra students. In the offices of Nassau Hall and West College, administrators' jubilance ("They love us!") was replaced with worry ("How're they gonna fit?!"). After a few weeks of head-scratching and brainstorming over the summer, the university's housing department drew up a plan. Existing space in the residential colleges would be stretched to capacity, and somehow, things would work out. They didn't, though, and it looked like over 30 students would still be without rooms. As a result, an anxious team of Princeton administrators called Michael S. Bielski, co-owner of the After Disaster Corporation of East Windsor, New Jersey, in early July. Bielski was surprised to receive the call, but says he felt "honored to deal with such a prestigious university." After a few weeks of negotiation, preparations began. The section of Poe Court between the Class of 1922 Hall and the Lewis Thomas Molecular Biology Lab was chosen as the site for the "prefabricated modular housing units" (56 feet long by 14 feet wide), and university building staff laid underground utility, telephone, computer, fire-alarm, and security lines. It was mid-August by the time the site was ready for the trailers to be brought in. "They kind of put me under the gun," says Bielski, who had less than two weeks to coordinate the project. "But everything went smoothly, and it was a definite success." On the last day of August, just 10 days before students were to register for classes, inspections were conducted and the housing approved for student use. Bielski was still a little nervous, though. Since After Disaster is leasing the housing, they retain ownership. "We were concerned about possible abuse of the facilities. We reserve the right to inspect the units, and we may try and pop in sometime." At press time, the university's Public Safety department had not yet gotten any complaints from the Poe Court area, according to an associate director of Public Safety, Sinclair Hill. "We haven't had any trouble there at all," he said. Whether the trailers are in danger or not, the safety of the students living in mobile housing could become an issue. "These units are state-of-the-art models, and just as safe as an average house. They're built better than half the homes in Princeton," Bielski says. But in the case of a hurricane, tornado, or severe wind storm, trailers like those on Poe Court are unsafe for residents," he says. "In those cases, we strongly recommend vacating the units." According to Public Safety, if a severe storm were to threaten the area, Poe Court residents might be evacuated to Dillon Gym, McCosh Health Center, or Wilcox Hall. "We would respond as we would to any other emergency," said Hill. From the university's point of view, however, the trailers' ugliness is their greatest shortcoming. Bielski took pains to cater to the university's aesthetic concerns. "They wanted them all the same color, so we did that. We built everything right to their specifications, and then upgraded the homes at our own expense." Despite the university's efforts to make Poe Court inconspicuous, the story about a "trailer court" at Princeton has caught on. The Daily Princetonian and the Nassau Weekly have run features about it, as have regional and national media. University spokeswoman Jackie Savani has been flooded with calls from all over the country. A recent Wall Street Journal headline read "Princeton's Newest Dormitory Could Put it in the RV League." It's possible that this year, the spectacle of Poe Court could supplant the Nude Olympics as Princeton's greatest claim to shame among the national media. In all likelihood, however, the infamous trailers will be gone by next year. According to the university's physical planning director, John Hlafter '61, new dorms are planned for the Poe Court area, to be ready as early as the fall of 1997. Hlafter said the university had planned construction in response to deterioration of dormitories, not the influx of new students, but added the extra students have intensified the need for new buildings. For now, most Poe Court residents seem content. The trailers are comfortable, and for at least one sophomore, the housing discount that goes with them has proven a financial windfall. "My parents let me split the cash," she said, "so I guess I won't be complaining." Jeremy Caplan '97, an undergraduate studying at the Woodrow Wilson School, is also a contributing editor of the Nassau Weekly. |