On-campus moves off

By Emily Bechen

Once again Santa Clara is facing a housing shortage. Returning sophomores and juniors who were promised housing are being offered a $1,000 incentive to move off campus, and about 70 students are being housed in the Mariani Inn off of El Camino.

According to the Housing Office the shortage can be attributed to a disproportionate number of students who decided to live on campus rather than move to satellite houses surrounding the campus.

However, sophomore Philip Tirman feels the problem lies in the school's priorities. "Millions of dollars are being spent on new gyms when they can't even provide student housing," he said.

Linda Franke, director of Housing, does acknowledge that new housing is sorely needed, and the land behind Casa is tentatively scheduled to be the site of a new dorm that should be ready by the fall of 2003.

Until Housing can determine which students will not be returning and how much space that creates, the $1,000 incentive will continue to be offered, and students will continue to live in the Mariani Inn.

According to Franke this may not be such a bad deal. The facilities at the hotel include both a hot tub and pool and many students are living in suites with their own kitchens. Though the school wishes it didn't have to use the Inn as it is fairly spendy, Franke praises the students residing there for being understanding and cooperative.

So far the only complaint from students has been lack of Internet connections, and the school is scrambling to create a makeshift computer lab at the Inn. Resident sophomore Nick Diamond praises the spacious rooms but notes that the place is quiet and isolated. Students are given bus passes, but Diamond says that most opt for cars or bikes.

Mariani's has also gone out of their way to create an environment as close to dorm life as possible. Sunday night they kicked off the school year with a Welcome Back Barbecue attended by most of the resident students, and will continue to host activities that are enjoyable and honor Santa Clara's restrictions.

Bozidar Orlovic, general manager of the hotel and Santa Clara alumnus, does not anticipate the students causing any problems because in his experience the students are respectful, well-behaved, and serious about their studies.

Housing is anxious to alleviate the stress the shortage creates, and also to foster a community of mixed-grade level housing. Swig has been the first step, but Franke anticipates that more dorms modeled after Swig and Unity's multi-grade level approach will be created. Franke feels that upperclassmen sharing living space with freshman can provide examples of leadership, share knowledge, and create friendships across the grade lev