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The Rice Thresher
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by Rachel Rustin thresher editorial staff The storm ended months ago, but some Martelians are still afraid they'll get left out in the rain. Construction delays caused by June's Tropical Storm Allison have left Martel College students trying to figure out what they will do when the spring semester starts on Jan. 15. The current projected move-in date to the Martel building is Jan. 28. A meeting was held Sunday at Martel House during which Director of Housing and Dining Mark Ditman presented various housing options. Martel President Alice Hill said all but a very small number of Martel students were satisfied with one of the options presented at Sunday's meeting. "I think we are going to accommodate whatever student needs are," Hill, a senior, said. "Now we are just going to try to work out the logistics to make sure all of the options are feasible and solidify the plans for people so that we do arrange what leases are being extended and make sure we have hotel reservations for what we need." Ditman said information about how many students are interested in each plan will ease making arrangements for January. Ditman said knowing how many people will need housing in January will have an impact on which of the various solutions being debated will be possible. "The idea was to just try to figure out where everybody was and the magnitude of the challenge," Ditman said. More concrete plans will be made once a more definite move-in date is set after hurricane season is over on Nov. 30. While Hill said Martel morale is good, there is evidence that not all Martelians are happy with the current living arrangements. One Martel student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was upset with the fact that he was living in the third, converted bedroom of an apartment at Twenty-one Eleven Holly Hall. To accommodate Martel students, Holly Hall enclosed space in the downstairs part of two bedroom apartments to make a small room with no closet. "I was quite livid because I would be paying $350 for an extremely small room and no closet while the people upstairs would be paying $425 for a big room upstairs with all of the amenities," he said. The Martel student said he had nowhere to put his clothes and was most upset because he wasn't accurately informed about the situation. "I've never seen someone call an 8-by-10 room with no closet and a low ceiling a bedroom," he said. The Martel student decided he could not live in that situation and negotiated with Holly Hall. In mid-September, he will be moving into a reduced-price one-bedroom apartment. His apartment-mates will continue to pay $425 and will not be penalized. The student said that while Ditman and Holly Hall did what they could to correct the situation, he wishes he never had to go through everything that occurred this past week. Wiess College sophomore Alexis Smith transferred to Martel last year, but has since transferred back to Wiess. Smith said her parents were not satisfied with the way housing and transportation were handled and urged her to switch back, especially since she does not have a car. Smith said Martel leadership was very helpful in her switch back to Wiess. Hill said dialogue will continue about how to help Martel students currently living at Holly Hall and how to ease the transition in January. "I think everybody that's working on this project has a better idea of what issues need to be addressed," Ditman said. Ditman said he has talked to hotels and that Holly Hall is still open to the idea of extending leases. Willie H. Marshall Jr., the associate provost for Student Services at Texas Southern University, said TSU is currently housing 250 students at the Days Inn near the Reliant Astrodome because of increased demand for campus housing. Marshall said it is more expensive for the students than dorm rooms, but is a good temporary solution. "I get mixed reviews - some like it, some have requested to leave the campus and go to [the hotel]," Marshall said. "The rooms are small, they're not like a dorm room, that's a big issue. The other complaints are pretty routine - some people feel a little inconvenienced because they're having to find transportation to and from campus." Ditman said he and the Martel leadership are still open to new ideas. "If anybody else comes up with a brilliant idea between now and then, we'd certainly add it to the potential solutions," Ditman said. Ditman said he got the feeling during the Sunday meeting that tetra points probably were not the preferred solution for "Adopt-A-Martelian" compensation, especially since the points would not be very useful to graduating students. "I'd be inclined to go with whatever plan makes people happiest," Ditman said. Ditman said Rice is looking into whether the Martel building can be phased in, meaning the rooms would be completed at different times, allowing people to move in as the rooms are ready. Ditman said this option, like the option of staying at Holly Hall, would eliminate the need for students to move twice as well as the need for storage. Martel junior Cynthia Lu said she would like to stay in a hotel if she can't stay at Holly Hall in January. While she doesn't want to move two weeks into the semester, she will if necessary. "It's an unfortunate situation, but it's not really anybody's fault because it's Mother Nature," Lu said. "We wanted Martel to have a big opening and just being set back can be kind of discouraging, but hopefully we'll all get through it." Lu said she is lucky to have her own car, but when it broke down last week, she had to call her father for a ride to campus. Martel junior Johnny Wallace said he is still figuring out a transportation system involving prepaid gas cards to use in a carpool system. Hill said the completed plan will be presented to Martel Wednesday. Wallace said Martelians who need rides will be matched with volunteer drivers. Wallace said he thinks the gas card plan can work, but commented that there is a Metro route that goes from Holly Hall to the Medical Center across the street from Lovett College. Hill said Martel will probably start recruiting freshmen from other colleges in October. Housing issues arising from freshmen switching colleges and from other students moving back on campus will be handled on a college-by-college basis.
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