In response to Thursday’s referendum launched by the One Georgetown One Campus campaign, administrators announced the University will conduct its own survey gauging student interest in living at a satellite residence.
After collecting more than the 300 signatures needed to launch a student referendum, GUSA officials are calling the student body to vote “No” on the satellite campus proposal.
“This referendum will be a very clear expression of the student opinion on this issue,” said Nate Tisa (SFS ‘14), GUSA president. “From what we’ve heard from talking to students, the sentiment is overwhelmingly no.”
The administration, however, has asserted that a majority of students it has spoken with supports the possibility of satellite housing.
Robin Morey, vice president for planning and facilities management, said that during the administration’s recent outreach to the student body, “Ten, fifteen, twenty students have said that [satellite housing] might be a good option for them. They’ve talked about it in a way that says that it’s something they’re interested in.”
In order to poll general student sentiment toward satellite housing, the University will release its own survey in the beginning of October, regardless of the results of the referendum being held by GUSA. The administrators believe the survey would be a more comprehensive gauge of student opinions on off-campus housing options than the referendum.
“Let’s just say 95 percent of people said they wouldn’t [live in a satellite residence], and 5 percent said they would … There might be a market for those 5 percent that might find it attractive to live off campus,” Morey said. “If we can somehow say that that’s a desirable option, that’s something we ought to consider. ”
However, students opposed to the idea of building satellite housing still believe that the potential five percent of students that would be in favor of this construction should not have the final word on the administration’s decision.
“You can pretty much find data to support any opinion—you can find 140 students that support [satellite housing], but I don’t necessarily think that is representative of the entire student body,” said Rosie Lauricella (MSB ‘14), co-director of the One Georgetown One Campus campaign.
Even though she’s skeptical of the survey’s accuracy, Lauricella notes that “it makes sense for them to issue a survey, and that’s what the referendum is doing too. It’s important that students are involved.”
During a student engagement session held on Monday night, administrators also clarified that the satellite residence would be a temporary housing option while other on-campus options were made available to meet the 2010 Campus Plan goals.
“The possibility of off-campus housing has always been considered a temporary option to help meet our long-term goal through building new spaces and renovating existing spaces to create desirable on campus housing,” wrote Rachel Pugh, director of media relations, in an email to the Voice.
According to Tisa, however, the University had initially not presented the option of satellite housing as a temporary one. “They weren’t saying that three weeks ago. It sounds like they’re starting to hear student voices,” he said.
The administration has emphasized that once enough beds are created on campus and the satellite housing is no longer needed, the residences could be potentially offered to graduate students who are interested in living in the city, closer to a metro stop.
However, if no agreement is reached between students and administrators on the establishment of a satellite residence, the University would restart negotiations with the neighborhood.
“It will not be [a] viable option if enough students do not want to live there. I hope it is clear to everyone that interest from five students would not be sufficient,” Pugh wrote.
In the meantime, administrators have been considering alternative long-term housing options, two of which would involve renovating Ryan-Mulledy Hall and the Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center. Ryan-Mulledy has structural and safety issues that would require major renovations to house students, though, and the administration has expressed concern that other campus institutions, such as the Georgetown University Hospital and the McDonough School of Business, will need the hotel space.
While the University has been negotiating the purchase of Kober-Cogan from MedStar for the past eight months, the administration has said that it is impossible to refurbish the location by 2015.
So far, the administration has considered multiple sites to place the satellite residence — four in Rosslyn, one in Courthouse, and a last one in Capitol Hill.
“If something sounds like it’s a viable option, then I’ll go look at it,” Morey said.
