The class of 2016 and its Residential Peer Leaders will be the first to live in the newly renovated Keeney Quadrangle dorm, which received a brand new makeover as part of a $67 million housing renovation project. Pictures of Keeney reveal retiled rooms, clean and luxurious lounges and kitchens that may as well be on an HGTV show. To put it simply, it's beautiful.
This is a drastic change from the Keeney that hundreds of other Brown students, myself included, lived in before. On any given day, Keeney halls were littered with empty cans and bottles. Broken exit signs - most likely having just been repaired from a previous incident days prior - hung precariously by their wires from the ceiling. Walls and bathroom stalls were scribbled on with graffiti not even linguistics concentrators could decipher.
But despite the wreckage, we affectionately called it "K-Nasty," and it was our home.
Without a doubt, Keeney was an excellent freshman community that promoted the forming of valuable friendships. Unfortunately, this bonding also involved navigating the debris scattered throughout the halls. I was often outraged by the wreckage that showed a clear lack of respect for our home. Smashing an exit sign is not a rite of passage into the ranks of college debauchery, and there is no sense of valiant, anarchic rebellion in tagging a wall. Instead, these are examples of ignorant vandalism that disrespect both a historic building and an entire community.
It is too late to call for the respect that the building deserved from my class or any before it, but with the drastic changes being made to Keeney, I can only hope that the new look will convince residents to respect the building and realize the consequences of their more destructive actions.
In 2007, the University reported spending more than $10,000 on repairing damage in Keeney ("Keeney vandalism damage tops $10K this year," March 15, 2007). That is a hefty sum of money. Imagine what other places and programs on campus could do with that money if it was not going to the "clean up after disrespectful drunk freshmen" fund.
It's not just on a large scale that destruction affects Brown - it also affects the various workers who come to clean up after students' messes. Or repair exit signs. Or scrub writing off the wall. We should respect these people like we would respect any other Brown professor or faculty members. Without them, our dorms would be completely in shambles. Respecting the living community is not just a service to one's self, hallmates and Brown's finances, but a kind gesture to those who ensure we live in clean and safe buildings.
Rather than simply placing blind faith in Keeney's residents not to damage the building, Brown could institute preventative measures to stop these problems before they happen.
Many other schools have taken numerous approaches to ending dormitory vandalism and promoting respect for living communities. Some have been proactive, such as Bridgewater State College, which developed a program that raises students' awareness of vandalism and also gives resident assistants more communication with custodial workers. This program saw a 50 percent decrease in damage fees after one year. But others represent a serious breach of privacy, such as Binghamton University, which instituted police patrolling dormitory halls after excessive damage was done. Binghamton even suggested the possibility of installing surveillance cameras in dorms. This approach promotes fear and misunderstanding rather than communication.
There are right and wrong ways to ensure dorm security and sanctity, and Brown could definitely take advice from other schools. Reducing vandalism in places such as Keeney requires cooperation and communication among students, RPLs and Brown faculty. As destructive as the Keeney freshmen may seem, we need to educate them rather than place them under 24/7 surveillance.
There is no harm in having a good time in Keeney. In fact, it is expected that those living there will be loud and have parties. Accidents happen. Messes will be made. But the procedure from this point forward should be for residents to take part in cleaning up after themselves rather than letting incidents fester. Someone who wants to study organic chemistry instead of playing beer pong does not to deserve to deal with the consequences of others' actions.
The experience of living in a dorm is foreign to many entering Brown each year, and it will most likely involve wild and memorable times in that dorm. But please, put posters on your walls - not graffiti in the halls.
Gabriella Corvese '15 loves her new, clean and quiet dorm. She can be reached at
gabriella_corvese@brown.edu.
