A friend recently referred me to a column published in the Voice on Sept. 19, entitled “The case for a satellite campus.” While the author may have merely been playing devil’s advocate, I felt that the article deserved a response. I don’t intend to elaborate on every argument against the satellite campus, nor do I intend to respond to every point made in “The case for a satellite campus.” Instead, I hope to address some of my concerns regarding the satellite campus that I have not seen discussed anywhere else.
To begin, the administration has attempted to frame the satellite campus as a last resort, a decision forced upon them due to constraints outlined in the 2010 Campus Plan. However, it is important to remember that these constraints were self-imposed. The only reason that the University is being “forced” to consider a satellite campus is because they agreed to the deadline in the campus plan in the first place.
While it should come as no surprise at this point, the Campus Plan was signed without any significant student input. As a reminder, the Campus Plan that the University agreed to also imposed a voluntary enrollment cap for the first time in Georgetown’s history; established that the townhouses on 36th street will become faculty and staff housing; and, by fall of 2015, 385 beds will be added to campus.
With all of this in mind, I find it outrageous that the administration is suddenly finding itself crunched for time. For a plan that was originally submitted over two and a half years ago, the sudden urgency behind the satellite campus option suggests poor planning and execution on the part of the administration. Students should not be punished for the administration’s shortcomings.
It is also worth taking a closer look at the University’s feeble attempts at marketing the satellite campus as a novel opportunity to live in another part of the D.C. Metro area while still attending Georgetown. This option is not novel because this option already exists—if a Georgetown student wanted to live in Capitol Hill, Rosslyn, or Clarendon, there is nothing preventing them from doing so. In fact, students could live in these neighborhoods for less than the price of paying Georgetown room and board.
The overwhelming majority of undergraduate students live on or around campus because we want to be on the Hilltop, not because we have to be. The administration would be remiss to think that students will suddenly migrate to Capitol Hill for a “novel” experience already available to them. Indeed, if the University couldn’t afford more expensive options closer to the Hilltop, I cannot imagine the state of the new dormitories. If renovating the Leavey hotel was deemed too expensive, what does that suggest about the quality of the satellite dormitories?
Furthermore, the University is claiming that living on these satellite campuses would be voluntary and that the solution would be temporary. Allow me to address the administration directly: I don’t believe you. If you are serious, put it in writing, and to be clear, verbal statements to the Voice and The Hoya are not acceptable. It is entirely possible that at least some members of the administration are sincere, but, as the future residents of these satellite dormitories, the students of Georgetown deserve a written, legal guarantee that we will never be forced to live on a satellite campus.
A satellite campus also establishes a terrible precedent. We have no reason to believe, as the administration has suggested, that the satellite campus would be “temporary.” Unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy run rampant at Georgetown, and if the satellite campus satisfies the current Campus Plan, it is not unreasonable to imagine that the administration would begin pursuing this option more aggressively with each successive Campus Plan.
These are only a few of my many issues with the satellite dormitory option. I am tremendously disappointed in the administration for continuing in the face of such strong opposition from students with so many other options available. I feel the Homecoming Committee captured the essence of the debate well with their slogan: “All Roads Lead to the Hilltop.” Not to Rosslyn. Not to Capitol Hill. And not to Clarendon.
Can someone please send this to DTO?
I want to get this entire article tattooed on my body. Thank you.