By Jonathan Hernandez ‘24
As students impatiently await the opening of the New Residential Building, meant to replace West Campus dorms, they find themselves having to wait even longer than anticipated. While the original plan was for the collection of dorms to be ready for students by the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year, the opening and operation of the facility have been postponed. During this past Spring Break, construction workers had discovered that a gaggle of wild geese had settled in the partly constructed building. In order to keep warm, the geese appeared to have ripped out the insulation from within the walls and made nests for their eggs. In an effort to not provoke nor harm the geese or their eggs, Mr. Warren and the Board of Trustees decided to establish a temporary goose sanctuary where the gaggle may freely roam and protect their eggs. The Board of Trustees and Mr. Warren hope to demonstrate St. Mark’s commitment to wildlife protection and the environment with this program. However, due to the hiatus in the construction of the new residential space, the dorms will be operational by the 2025-2026 academic year. Without the new dorms for the next academic year, St. Mark’s has been looking toward more effectively utilizing the current roaming space to best accommodate every student. To best make use of the available space, the Dean of Students’ Office has presented their plans for roaming for next year. Their plan highlights how all students will be required to have a roommate. There are to be no “singles” next year, and the largest room will not be a room with three students, but a room with six students, with three bunk beds in each previously “double” room. This new plan allows students to be “close to each other,” physically and socially. While current students may be in disdain that they may miss the opportunity to use the new dorms and the space’s communal study rooms and cooking places or that their rooms will be cozier in the following years, they are able to rest more easily knowing the Southborough gaggles are guarded.
