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The Rice Thresher
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by Aalok Mehta Thresher Staff About 35 Martel College students have been placed on the waiting list for first-semester housing after the 57 slots reserved for Martelians at a local apartment complex filled up within a couple of days. Last month, Food and Housing announced they had reached an agreement with Twenty-One Eleven Holly Hall, a complex located about three miles from Rice near the Astrodome. The 19 three-bedroom apartments offered provide beds for fewer than half of Martel's 120 future residents who will live off-campus until January 2002, when the construction of Martel is expected to be completed. F&H Director Mark Ditman said he was pleased with the arrangement. "We went for the maximum number of rooms possible, but they weren't going to commit on 120 beds," Ditman said. "They offered us leases on the beds they expected to be vacant - 57." Originally, only around 20 students were interested in the plan, but when firmer plans were established, interest skyrocketed, Martel Housing Representative Mindy Tyson said. The open slots filled up on a first-come, first-serve basis and a waiting list was established. Tyson said she is not worried that so many students were placed on the waiting list because they can still receive the Rice Rate at Holly Hall. The "Rice Rate" is a special deal Holly Hall is offering all university faculty, staff and students. It features discounted rents and allows participants to receive priority status on the reservation list for a vacancy. The shortest lease available using the Rice Rate is six months; members of the Martel plan will have four-and a-half month leases lasting from Aug. 15 through Dec. 31. There are plans to create a space for the storage of Martel residents' items over winter break, said Tyson, but she acknowledges the hassle of having to move out after finals are over. In addition, the Martel plan requires students to live one person per bedroom, though Ditman said this might change later. They can also live only in three-bedroom, three-bathroom units. The Rice Rate has no such restrictions. Ditman said he is suggesting Holly Hall as a first choice for Martel residents. "This provides a place where Martel members could live together in a singular community for the fall semester," he said. Some students who have been guaranteed a bed at Holly Hall seem enthusiastic about the plan. "Holly Hall seems like a lot of fun," said Baker College freshman Lanchi Do Huynh, who will be living at Holly Hall under the Martel plan next semester. "There's a lot of people from Martel there, and it's a chance to form a sense of community with them, to get to know people from my college." Will Rice College freshman Jordan Rule, who is currently on the waiting list and hasn't made any alternate living plans, said he was not worried about finding an apartment. "They have it all worked out," Rule said. "They sent me an e-mail saying this is the house you could be living in. It's easy." Will Rice College sophomore Erin McEntee, who was put on the waiting list, said she was upset because previous e-mails did not emphasize how few spots there were at Holly Hall. "It's just really frustrating because it's virtually impossible to find a four and a half month lease," McEntee said. "In prior e-mails it was not mentioned that the off-campus housing for Martel students was limited. If I'd know that 40 percent of the people would not be guaranteed housing off-campus, I would have reconsidered my decision to transfer. Being waitlisted is the worst feeling because we're just in limbo." McEntee also said she felt abandoned by the organizers of the living arrangement. "The whole point of living at Holly Hall was to foster unity," she said. "That's one of the things I'm disappointed about - I was looking forward to bonding with my new college. We're sacrificing the cohesion we have at our own colleges and going out on a limb to form this new college, and they've basically said, 'Too bad, you have to live somewhere else.'" Shannon Murto wanted to live at Holly Hall but chose to get an apartment by herself. "I want my apartment because I don't know these people well enough to live with them," she said. "But I want to get to know people so I have a good idea of who I want to live with second semester." Sid Richardson College freshman Rene Aninao said he does not think the provisions at Holly Hall are a good bargain. "Holly Hall may not be a scam, but it's not much of deal," Aninao said. "It's not as good a deal as they could have gotten. I want something a little closer, with a cheaper price." Aninao said students living at Holly Hall will not develop a sense of community because they will not see each other often. "There's no central meeting place," he said. "You get to know each other because you see each other, live and eat together. The real college life of Martel is not going to start until the building is done."
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