Housing and Dining Holds First Meeting About Zeke

The future of Zeke is up for debate. A proposal to open up the all-male Zechiel Hall to female students was discussed at the monthly meeting of the Housing and Dining committee yesterday.

Supporters of the proposal cite the low number of requests to be placed in Zeke as inefficient use of space on a campus with increasing housing crunches. Zeke has 43 beds; last year only 17 students requested the dorm. Although it is traditionally upperclass housing, some of the extra spaces have been filled by placing first-years in the dorm. Many students placed in Zeke did not request to live there. Opening it to female students was presented as a way to address the issue of under utilization.

Assistant Director of Residential Life and Services Sandra Hougland, who wrote the proposal, said, "The primary reason the proposal has been brought forward is supply and demand. Part of our decision is basically student satisfaction."

Opening Zeke to women means the loss of the only all-male space on campus. Many residents of Zeke and critics of the proposal stress the need for a male counterpart to all-female Baldwin, and the important sense of community among the men at Zeke.

Acting President Clayton Koppes said, "The athletic director is in favor of a change, the football coach is, the Student Life division is: they think it's the way to go. It's probably a desirable move."

Zeke is not a program house, although it accommodates primarily athletes. Said sophomore resident Miguel Villafana, "One of the stereotypes is that it is the jock's place. This is missing the point. It is just as much a male community as Baldwin is a female community." But he emphasized the importance of Zeke as a support system for athletes on a campus where athletics are looked down upon by many students.

Junior Rick Pierce, residential coordinator in Zeke, stresses the unique spirit. "There is a sense of community. Not an open community such as those that form in Dascomb or North, but a deeper community, one that's built on the football field and the basketball court," said Pierce.

Pierce criticizes the proposal as short-sighted and narrowly focused. He cited the College's commitment to building the football team as reason to expect Zeke's popularity would increase in the future.

The proposal also cites the lack of constructive programming. Pierce defends this. "It's hard to program in Zeke during the first semester. The majority of programs happen second semester when the football players are not playing football."

The College has other all-male housing options, but these are sections in co-ed dorms. Excluding Zeke, four percent of College housing is found in male-only sections, as opposed to 11 percent for females. But Hougland stresses that there is high demand for these female spaces. There is a history of proposals to make Zeke co-ed. Similar initiatives failed in 1995 and 1997.

The committee cannot vote until the proposal has had two readings, so no decision will be made until the next Housing and Dining committee meeting in February. Following approval by the committee, the Student Life committee and the General Faculty committee must also pass the proposal.

The proposal's opponents stress the need for an all-male dorm and criticize the focus on Zeke as a haven for jocks. But Donita Pace, area coordinator for Zeke, feels that the athletic aspect must be seen in combination with its position as a men's dorm when debating the suggestion to make it co-ed. "It is hard to separate Zeke as a jock house and Zeke as an all-male space. It's like a different world. And I don't think it's because it's an all-male space. Most men on campus don't want to live there. I'm not sure that making it co-ed for female athletes addresses some of these issues. I don't know if there's any proposal that can do this."