By Signe K. Skinion

A recent University Housing decision making Neely Hall the only over-21 dorm beginning Fall 1996 prompted some members of the Undergraduate Student Government to protest the decision.

David Vingren, USG Thompson Point senator, said he is disappointed in the Neely decision and believes Housing did not consider the feelings of the entire campus.

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USG passed a resolution that opposed the non-availability of 21-and-over housing at Thompson Point, Vingren said. The decision made by Ed Jones (University Housing Director) does not reflect that resolution. Neely Hall, located in University Park, is a 17-story, high-rise dorm currently housing coed students of any age.

Jones said converting Neely was a difficult decision, but it had to be made.

The opinions were going both ways on the conversion proposal and we knew that whatever the decision was, there would be someone upset, Jones said.

USG Senator Andrew Ensor said he feels Jones is the main problem behind Housing’s decision.

I now see the underlying, absolute problem is Ed Jones, Ensor said. He is not listening to us, consulting us and is not working with us. I have asked USG to consider a resolution to be brought to the Board of Trustees to remove Ed Jones as director.

Steve Kirk, assistant director of Residence Life, said the decision was necessary to accommodate the changing population on campus.

When it is time to make a change, it is going to inconvenience some people, Kirk said. I’m sure there were people inconvenienced when the over-21 dorms were first implemented. There is no 100-percent good way to make this change, but I feel it is necessary because of the demographic changes on campus.

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Vingren said he feels the Residence Hall Association, who mediated student reactions and Jones’ ideas, did not accurately represent the campus views.

RHA is supposed to be representative of all the campus, Vingren said. People here in Thompson Point were completely left out in the cold by RHA, and this is a situation that needs to be addressed. I’m not going to lay down and die on this proposal. I’m going to find some other avenue to have 21-and-over housing on Thompson Point.

Evie Younger, RHA Communication Coordinator, said RHA repeatedly attempted to have Warren Hall, the over-21 dorm in Thompson Point, on the conversion planning committee but received no contact from residents of the hall.

Warren Hall does have representation by RHA and was invited to attend any of the meetings concerning the Neely Hall conversionl, Younger said. They chose not to attend any RHA or committee meetings where they could have voiced their concerns or received information. While RHA feels very badly that they did not attend, we can not force them to attend.

Ensor said a survey conducted by USG in Warren Hall showed a sample cluster of over-21 students do not want to move to Neely.

Jones said despite any criticisms, he stands by his decision.

We have to weigh everything we’ve got and make the best decision from that, Jones said. But we have to look at the current situation, and that is giving the more mature students a place where they can live that fits their specific needs. I believe Neely fits these needs.