This December, all 266 of Aiken Village’s tenements will be unoccupied to give way to the complex’s eventual demolition. Although the Department of Housing and Resident Life has set up a website to aid students seeking off-campus housing, I find it confounding that MSU is not doing more to foster community and the academic development of such hardworking students.
Anne Bailey, director of Housing and Residence Life said, “The facility is worn out. The infrastructure no longer provides the kind of experience that MSU wants to provide. The facility has outlived its usefulness.”
The decision to close Aiken Village, made public August 2010, was based on matters of aesthetics, cost and safety. Last fall, Dr. Kibler, the vice president for Student Affairs, remarked on the cost of renovation and retrofitting an automatic sprinkler system. According to Fire Marshall Stein McMullen, this system is not required by the Mississippi Fire Prevention Code.
An entire community is going to be destroyed: a place where fathers walk the family dog, where children play and where students from all over work to make a better world. Two town hall meetings were held on campus in this Sept. to discuss the closing and related grievances. Unfortunately, apart from pushing the initial closing date of April to December, little has been done to redress.
I recently sought out residents and graduate international students Laila Jover of the geosciences department and Jehan Seneviratne of the physics and astronomy department to find out how student life is being harmed. We began with why they chose Aiken Village in the first place.
“When I enrolled, MSU informed me about it, and it’s the only graduate housing available … It’s near the university. I felt secure there,” replied Seneviratne.
He continued, adding a relevant consideration to graduate students, “Also, you didn’t have to sign a year-long lease.”
“It was convenient, the shuttles and everything,” Jover added. “Knowing that it was a place for graduate students made it an attractive environment.”
I asked if they were surprised by the closing.
“I was surprised by the lack of commitment to a solution to really help students. There were emails sent out last October… [At first], they made us sign a lease saying we’d leave in April. Then a separate lease saying we’d leave in August, then December,” replied Jover.
I then asked them about their status as international students.
“Security is a big issue … When you’re an international student first moving to the States, the university links you to that place, which makes it a lot easier. You could do it all online,” replied Jehan. “You don’t even need a Social Security Number.”
At this time, Chris Vanlangenberg, a graduate student of mathematics, joined our discussion. In rapid fire, he introduced other pertinent issues.
“[Aiken Village] has access to campus internet for research, is secure for family and kids, is accessible to those who can’t afford a vehicle … and makes for an easier transition for new students. The housing department knew that Aiken Village would be 50 years old in 2010, and no actions were taken earlier.”
On Nov. 8 of last year, in a letter to the Graduate Council, Dr. Kibler claimed renovation would cost more than to demolish and rebuild.
Have the powers-that-be factored in the emotional cost of wiping out an entire community? I don’t think so. Where is the independent feasibility study that demonstrates it’s cheaper and safer to rebuild from scratch? The Bulldog family must demand transparency. It is our moral obligation to the Aiken Village community.
Editor’s Note: MSU President Mark Keenum announced plans to replace Aiken Village with new family housing at the Aug. 30 general faculty meeting.
 Christopher Ramos is a graduate  student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He can be contacted at [email protected].