Cornell University President Hunter Rawlings today (May 2) issued the following statement on the discussion that has taken place over the last six weeks in reference to his draft recommendations to the Board of Trustees concerning campus residential communities: "Over the last six weeks our campus has had a spirited discussion of my recommendations to the Board of Trustees that Cornell adopt a comprehensive policy concerning the formation and maintenance of residential communities. This policy would apply to all forms of campus housing, including traditional dormitories, program houses, cooperatives, fraternities and sororities.

"This discussion has involved many groups and individual participants -- including faculty participating in the faculty-in-residence and faculty fellows programs, faculty engaged in our several ethnic studies academic programs, the professional staff of the Department of Campus Life and its many resident assistants and program assistants, the director of the Office of Minority Affairs, present and former residents of program houses and other students, chaplains, student services professionals, student leaders in the Student Assembly and our student-elected members of the Board of Trustees, and interested alumni, parents, and members of the local community.

"In general, this discussion has been carried on with civility and a sense of common purpose.

"I am pleased by the support for the fundamental goal and basic principles that lie at the heart of our proposed policy. Widespread agreement has been given to the recommendations that we should extend the university's guarantee of available on-campus housing to those sophomores and incoming transfer students who wish to utilize it, as well as to incoming freshmen; to the strengthening and augmentation of our faculty's involvement in undergraduate residential programs; to the encouragement of more upper- division students living on campus, particularly on west campus; and to the central goal that all our residential communities should contribute to an intellectually engaged and socially responsible campus environment.

"There has certainly been focused disagreement on one of my recommendations in the original draft, which suggests that residency in our program houses should not be an option available for freshmen. I believe that there is much to be said for insuring that all freshmen have shared experiences that expose them to the breadth of intellectual, social and cultural opportunities at Cornell. However, many members of the community have argued that this objective is compatible with permitting freshmen the choice to live all or part of their first year in one of our ten program houses. In my judgment, this is clearly a subject that lends itself to further analysis and dialogue, and I commit the administration to fostering this process in the year ahead.

"As I have said repeatedly over the last several days to students and others concerned with the issue of freshmen in program houses, the document that we will forward to the Board of Trustees will be limited to the goal and basic principles for residential communities at Cornell that have received broad endorsement on campus over the recent months. "This document does not include the specific program direction that I outlined in the original draft concerning freshmen in program houses. That subject, along with many others -- such as the desirable form of new construction, the type of renovations required to improve our existing residential space, the impact of housing options on student recruitment and retention, and the pricing policies affecting student choice -- will be reviewed next year by task groups comprising faculty, staff and students from across the campus, including members of the Student Assembly, Faculty Senate, and individuals drawn from and by the communities directly affected by the residential plan. With the leadership of a steering committee, these task groups will examine these questions and their implementation.

"The Board of Trustees has asked that our recommendations be presented at the May meeting, and that will be done. Action on the basic policy is required now if we are to begin the necessary preparatory work for informed discussion and program development in the year ahead.

"I regret that some of our students have chosen to continue a hunger strike at this important time of the academic year. We have listened carefully to their objections to the original draft of the administration's proposal and have made substantial modifications as a result. I again ask these students to end their protest, which at this point can only be self-destructive, and work with the administration in a constructive dialogue throughout the coming year.

"I remain encouraged that the Cornell community has the capacity to shape its own future with intelligence, creativity and mutual respect. We must not allow ourselves to be immobilized, either by the pressure of external forces or by the restrictions of past decisions. Working together, I have no doubt that we will be equal to the task." The text of the document that will be presented to the Board of Trustees at its May meeting is attached.