Colleges: separate but equal?

"The residential college is not only a dormitory," Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead, BR '68, GRD '72, explained. "It's a force of education. When you get a Yale degree, it doesn't mean you took 36 courses. That's the least of a Yale education." Yet differences between the colleges affect the experience of every student. TDers are heavily annexed, while Morse juniors and seniors enjoy singles. Jonathan Edwards residents can reap the rewards of the largest budget of any college, even as Trumbull faces more limited financial resources.

COURTESY SILLIMAN COLLEGE WEBPAGE

Three Deans and three Masters plan to leave this year, and renovations continue at full speed amid questions about funds and space. With so many new challenges evolving each year, it seems a good time to wonder: is the residential college system still the best one for students?

Home away from home

Perhaps the most important aspect of the residential college system is the physical colleges themselves. But some have an easier time housing their students than others. JE and Trumbull, for example, annex nearly half their juniors, while colleges like Silliman and Stiles tend to need very little annex space, if at all. Dean of Administrative Affairs John Meeske, JE '74, said the discrepancy is deliberate. "I was in JE, and in those days JE got 80 freshmen, which meant the total population was very small," he explained. Nowadays, every college gets between 95 and 125 students per class. "In order to give JE and Trumbull a class size that is even close to the others, the reality is that they need a sizeable annex on Old Campus," Meeske said. "We could go back to giving JE 80 freshmen, but then other inequities would arise."

Some people who live in smaller colleges complain. "I think it's difficult to annex 50 percent of the junior class," Trumbull Dean Peter Novak said. "It doesn't seem fair to have some colleges that are smaller than all the others. Saybrook is huge, and Trumbull is much smaller, and that is a significant difference. But there are benefits to both."

Responses to annexing vary. "I don't mind at all," Jon Schoenfeld, JE '02, said. "The rooms in Durfee are nicer than the ones in JE." He added that the annex had a vibrant community of juniors. But when the renovated Berkeley was forced to annex sophomores to accomodate juniors who had never lived in the college, students were upset. Meghan Casey, BK '01, a member of that year's housing committee, asked, "Shouldn't we have a chance to experience our college? This is what differentiates us from other Ivies, the reason some people choose Yale, and you completely devalue it." Almost three-quarters of the class will have been annexed by the time it graduates. Annexing has been a point of contention ever since sophomores were required to live on campus in 1995. "The rationale was that sophomores should have the experience of living in a residential college," said Dean of Administrative Affairs John Meeske, who is in charge of Yale College housing.

By forcing sophomores to live on campus, Yale consciously took places in colleges from those that wanted to live there—the annexed juniors—and giving them to sophomores who didn't necessarily want them. "It's always possible that we would relax the sophomore requirement," Meeske said. "Each year it's discussed, and each year it's rejected."

Overcrowding could return as renovations proceed. "That is a big concern," Meeske said. "I know that there has been talk of whether we should have a 13th college. That is one possibility." Brodhead said the Administration has kept the recent entering classes small to avoid further crunches.

New problems may arise in the spring, however. In previous years, Meeske had to shuffle annex space as each college's room draw yielded unanticipated demands. This year, colleges will be bound to estimates of how much space they'll need prior to the draws. "The downside is that since we would have to give spaces in advance, we wouldn't have the flexibility to move space around," he said. "The effect may be that students are forced off campus."

Where everybody knows your name...

"The Master might hope for the chance to be an intellectual and cultural leader, a role model for those who care about the life of the mind," Stiles Master Paul Fry said. But one student said her Master holds few events. "The Master organizes zero events other than the occasional tea," she said. Guests at teas vary, depending on the Master's interests and connections—Morse teas reflect Master Stanton Wheeler's interest in music and in law, while JE Master Gary Haller, an appreciator of fine wine, sponsors wine tastings. Some colleges, however, tend to have more teas than others. Calhoun has already had 15 teas this term, while Davenport has had fewer than 10. Timothy Dwight holds no teas, but does have Chubb fellowships and other cultural events.

Students often believe the particular quantity or quality of their college's events reflects their Master's general involvement in student life. In addition to its numerous teas, Calhoun sponsors a Rhodes Scholars program, in which Master Sledge does practice interviews for potential candidates. JE students can enjoy the Tetelman Fellowship, which brings a prominent guest to the college each year to speak at a banquet.

Excuses, excuses

Most Deans dismiss such talk as exaggerated. "Students who haven't had a difficult time say it's real easy, but the standards are the same in all colleges," Silliman Dean Hugh Flick said. Brodhead agreed. "We don't want to have 12 different jurisdictions," he said. "No doubt it happens to a small degree, but we have safeguards—we have reviews every three years of each Dean." Still, complaints persist. If students don't get an excuse they feel they deserve, they can appeal to Trachtenberg.

There is room for interpretation; the Blue Book says excuses are valid for "comparable emergencies." Therein lies opportunity for leeway, says Novak—and that can be important. "When a student comes in for an excuse, I know more about that student than others, like professors or other students," he said. "I make judgments based on my past experience with that student." That is precisely why Deans, in addition to being academic advisers, are expected to develop relationships with students.

"Listening to what students are saying, using common sense, drawing on life experience—people have different styles," Morse Dean Rosemary Jones said in response to how Deans deal with students' personal issues. Calhoun Dean Stephen Lassonde said, "The Dean provides a psychological comfort zone, a luxury in a place this size."

The steep learning curve

Any time there is turnover, students suffer a little. "The first thought that comes to my mind is that at graduation, the people speaking about memories of our class will only have known us for a year," Casey said. "It's hard, especially if you already have a relationship with the current Master and the Dean." Sometimes, of course, students aren't sad to see Deans and Masters go. "I'm just as happy he's leaving," one student said of her departing Dean. New Masters and Deans have plenty of help. Krauss learned a lot from her predecessor, Kelly Brownell, before he left. But Fry warns, "I've been a Master for six years. It's a steep learning curve." Deans attend weekly meetings during their first year, called Dean School, to learn the complicated ropes of the undergraduate regulations and the Blue Book. "You'd be lost without Dean School," Jones said.

Some are more equal than others

Yet most Masters, who are in charge of funding and spending for the colleges, will tell you the differences are overrated. "Yes, some colleges have more money, but frankly, I don't think any of us have a right to use that as an excuse," Master Fry said. "For basic improvements and for the subsidization of nearly any conceivable roster of events, all of us have enough money." Trachtenberg echoed Fry's sentiments. "Certain colleges have more money than others," she admitted. "But I don't know of any college whose activities are severely limited because they can't get the money."

Nevertheless, the difference exists, and it may partly explain why some colleges seem to have a longer list of college events. Brodhead, however, says such differences aren't the most important thing. "Money isn't everything," he said. "They say money can't buy you love, but it also can't buy you spirit. There's a good deal of money available to each college, enough so that the significant difference is in how imaginatively and creatively the college spends it."

In addition to the parents' fund, certain colleges have endowments and fellowships. JE, with the Bates and the Tetelman, and TD, with the Chubb Fellowship, have by far the largest funds of any college. "I think we get hit upon unfairly," Master Haller said. "All of the Yale College traveling fellowships come out of our endowment. I could turn it around and say, `Why does everyone benefit from my work?'" Another source of difference is the way Masters decide to spend the money. Some are willing to provide extra funds to college councils, while others use extra funds only for capital improvements to the college itself.

The renovations have shown that certain colleges also have richer alumni than others. Yale has tried to raise $20 million from alumni for each of the college renovations so far. Berkeley had the easiest time, getting the entire amount from Robert Bass, BK '71. Saybrook, on the other hand, still hasn't met its goal. "Not every college is equal," Associate Provost Lloyd Suttle said. "Some colleges have a significant number of alumni who have the capacity to make substantial gifts, high seven or low eight figures—it's luck of the draw."

The sincerest form of flattery

Trachtenberg believes that a periodic examination of our most cherished institution is a valuable exercise. "Many of us who work here year after year forget that the turnover among undergraduates is really quite often," she said. "Each generation should look at Yale and all of its aspects." Such an exploration reveals perhaps some surprising inequalities within the system, but also the sense that Yale wouldn't possess the same magic without it. "Despite the frustrations, I'm happy with the residential college system, and I wouldn't want it any other way," Casey said.

Photos of Masters and Deans courtesy of Yale Banner.

Carl Bialik and Alexis Swerdloff contributed to this article.

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