To the Editor:
While I applaud the Corporation's decision to go ahead with dorm renovations ("Campus housing to be renovated, transformed," Feb. 13), I take issue with the statement by Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, which says that first-years currently dislike living in Perkins because it's too far away from the center of campus. While this assessment of our travel time might be accurate, I would hardly qualify this as an overarching reason for first-years to dislike living in Perkins. True, it would be nice to be closer to the Main Green and to be able to wake up a little bit later for morning classes. But the costs of living so incredibly far away (a mere four- or five-block walk) are undeniably outweighed by the wonderful community created by our distance. Perkinites can often be found in the lounge studying, playing Super Smash Bros. or even partying. Our doors are almost always open, and many of us will share at least one meal a day together. We are not the shut-ins in the hinterlands of Providence that we are made out to be. (Also, our bathrooms are considerably cleaner than those in our larger, more centralized counterparts.) While Perkins' transformation into upperclassmen housing seems inevitable, I hope that ResLife will work to create a similar, communal experience like I and so many of my fellow Perkinites have found. I have been incredibly lucky to live in Perkins. So next time you see one of us walking to our isolated retreat (again, a mere five-minute walk), think about how lucky we are that we get to live in a place where you can know everyone and find a home.
Samuel Davidoff-Gore '15
