New colleges require fixing

By Staff Editorial     8/27/09 7:00pm

With the fireworks settled and the students all moved in, the kinks of McMurtry College and Duncan College are now coming out of the woodwork. Clogged pods, busted sinks and a lack of cell phone service are not the way administration and construction officials planned to welcome the two new colleges, but that is the way that they have now entered the college system (see story, page 1).We are not here to lay the blame on any one group or organization; with so many players involved, there is shared fault, just as there is shared accomplishment in overcoming tragedy, a devastating hurricane and financial downturn to see McMurtry and Duncan rise in time for the 2009-10 school year. Even if we tried to, we could not disentangle the many projects and ideas which were both proposed and snuffed out before the McMurtrians and Duncaroos entered the Rice community.

With all of their accoutrements, something was bound to go wrong. Murphy's Law, and all that. After all, Rice was breaking new ground, both literally and figuratively, with this impressive and admirable foray into environmental friendliness. But in what world is removing cell phone service a tradeoff for saving a few trees? Why did we have to sacrifice a necessity in order to reduce our carbon footprint by a relatively minuscule increment?

If you're unsure of what we're talking about, head over to the new colleges, and try to call your family to describe what they look like. You won't be able to. The concrete floors, walls and ceilings all do a remarkable job of killing any and all signal between your cell phone and the outside world.

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Perhaps you're of the dated opinion that cell phones are not a requisite for on-campus living. However, there's little reason for the Rice University Police Department to (rightfully) pound their extension into our heads if there is no means of using it. Next time a McMurtrian or Duncaroo is in the throes of partying too hard, are their friends going to have to sprint to the Martel College quad to find potentially life-saving cell phone reception?

This is a design problem, a gross oversight, unequivocally and inarguably. However, there are also implementation issues that, fortunately, are a bit easier to fix. From "smart" lighting systems forgetting their inhabitants are still in the room, to flooded bathroom pods, to sinks simply falling clean from the wall, minor problems have popped up in varied and, we'll admit it, humorous ways. But these can be fixed.

The Student Maintenance Representatives cannot be the ones running back and forth every time a new issue arises. Instead, we would propose a type of utilities czar - someone with a thorough checklist, a rundown of all utilities, who could double-check that everything is in its right place and is in working condition. If this is untenable, McMurtry's creation of an online forum for discussion of issues is another possible route to follow and improve upon.

Most of all, however, we would recommend maintaining communication lines with the current student population. The McMurtrians and Duncaroos know best what issues they are dealing with, and it would behoove the administration and construction officials to listen to them at all turns and as often as possible.

While we appreciate the university's avoidance of the "adopt a Martellian" program implemented when Martel fell behind construction earlier this decade, we hesitate to commend the university for taking such rushed measures in completing the two new colleges. We understand that they were not attempting to turn a blind eye to student needs; as such, they shouldn't start now.

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