Last all-women dorm to close this semester

At the end of this semester, the last free-standing, all-women dorm will close. Ashton-Stempel will transform to house students over 21, both male and female. \nCurrently, Ashton-Stempel provides single rooms for women only, while Ashton-Weatherly provides single rooms for students age 21 and older. The University plans to tear down Weatherly in coming years.\nLast semester, the community councils of each residence hall discussed changes that could be made in their halls for the coming year. One suggestion was moving the Weatherly living arrangement to Stempel. After the community councils met, Nancy Lorenz, director of academic initiatives and services at Residential Programs and Services, met with the AIS committee to discuss the potential changes. \nKara Kosowski, residence halls associations vice president of internal affairs and chair of the academic initiatives and services committee, said the committee voted on the idea and it was appealing to keep the Weatherly arrangement because it is highly requested. She said Stempel was the only Ashton building that could be changed because the other four buildings already have arrangements to house Residence Scholars and other Freshman Interest Groups.\nLorenz said it is important for the University to provide low cost housing to students over 21. She said there are spaces in Eigenmann for older students, but they are more expensive.\nAshton President Kyle Campbell said he thinks Stempel's current arrangement is an asset to the University and some students living there do not desire the change.\n"I am upset about the fact that Stempel residents were not approached prior to the voting of this decision, since it is directly affecting them," he said.\nCampbell said he thinks women choose to live in Stempel because of safety.\n"One of the reasons they chose Stempel was simply because it is an all-female building and thus provides at least the thought of increased safety," Campbell said. "With safety also comes cleanliness … In voicing the opinions of the residents and myself, I express disappointment in the decision to change the environment."\nLorenz, on the other hand, said she does not believe most girls chose to live in Stempel because it is all women and appears more safe.\n"The concept of having an all-one-sex center has not been a variable for years," she said. "I have never seen a student write 'I want an all women's dorm' (on a housing application)."\nAshton-Stempel Resident Advisor Annette Cote said she was upset about the change at first but will like moving to a new building. Cote said she doesn't think the change will affect many of her residents because most of them are living off-campus next year. She said she thinks most of her residents chose Stempel because it offers single rooms or because they just needed a place to live.\nCote added that living in an all-women building is annoying at times.\n"I don't mind being with all girls, (but it's a) headache because everyone has to escort guys everywhere and that has to be enforced," she said.\nKosowski said some buildings in Wright Quad still provide safe environments for women only. \nLorenz said students displaced by the changes will receive preference on where they want to live next year.