October 1998

March 1999

May 1999

"In setting more specific directions for its work, the Task Force has decided that it will focus primarily on the student experience of residential life. While other topics (admissions, retention, athletics, the role of alcohol, etc.) might be considered to have an impact on residential life, the Task Force has concluded that its work will best serve the trustees' purposes if the focus is confined primarily to issues, unmet needs, and aspirations in the three areas mentioned above (housing, food services, and community life)."

June 1999

October 1999

December 1999

January 2000

The Board states that it "endorses the following working principles on equity: 1) Lawrence students may freely associate and form student groups and organizations of their own choosing (including Greek-letter social organizations); 2) The allocation of college-owned housing should be based on clear and equitable rules; and 3) No student group or organization should have a permanent claim to occupancy in any unit of college-owned housing. Existing claims should be resolved equitably."

February/March 2000

April 2000

June 2000

September 2000

October 2000

In a Letter to the Lawrence Community from the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Harold Jordan communicates the Board's acceptance of the Task Force report and its appreciation for the efforts of those involved. The mailing, which is received by students, faculty and staff, and alumni, contains a formal document, the Board of Trustees Response to the Report of the Task Force on Residential Life, that details the Trustees official response to the Task Force report. The Response states:

"The Board directs the administration to: (1) develop, in consultation with the Lawrence University Community Council and by the end of the 2000-2001 academic year, a clear set of procedures and criteria for the equitable and efficient allocation of formal group housing and an appropriate code of conduct for groups occupying such housing; (2) describe and constitute a Formal Group Housing Review Board, composed of students, faculty, and staff, that would be responsible for carrying out the procedures for allocating group housing; (3) increase over the next few years the amount of university housing stock available for formal group living, so that, to the greatest extent possible, space will be available for all groups that desire such housing and meet the specified criteria; (4) effect all changes in the present housing arrangements gradually over a period of years."

"In carrying out this charge, the administration should be informed by the relevant recommendations of the Task Force, should apply all rules and criteria evenhandedly, and should ensure that no existing or newly constituted group of students is denied access to appropriate housing arbitrarily. In particular, the administration, working in concert with the Board, should continue negotiations with representatives of Greek-letter social organizations, with the goal of ensuring that existing claims are equitably resolved."

In May 2000, the Trustees requested that the college engage Sasaki Associates, Inc., of Watertown, Massachusetts, to conduct a comprehensive update of the campus master plan. In doing so, the Board sought to inform its thinking on how the potential construction of additional residential units and a new campus center might impact larger issues of facility planning at the college.

Sasaki Associates had originally been engaged in 1995 to examine the strategic planning issues confronting Lawrence University over the next five to twenty-five years. Their May 1995 report, "Strategic Options for the Campus Plan of Lawrence University," outlined a number of planning scenarios and recommendations for the development of campus facilities.

The new Sasaki report, titled Lawrence University: Update of Strategic Options, October 2000, is posted to the Lawrence University Web site.

March 2001

September 2001

Mr. Jordan states "Lawrence is and has been committed to finding an equitable resolution of existing claims to permanent occupancy of units of college-owned housing. Accordingly, the college invited the fraternities to enter into discussions with the goal of resolving those claims. Two meetings between representatives of Lawrence and those of the fraternities took place during the spring and summer."

"On the basis of those discussions, Lawrence has proposed a response to the fraternities' concerns regarding their housing and their continued presence and purpose on campus. This response would, among other things, provide the fraternities with the continued opportunity to occupy formal group houses, with assured meeting space, and with financial enhancements of endowed scholarship funds for their members."

"It does not (and, given our commitment to equitable access, it cannot) guarantee their exclusive occupancy of particular units of college-owned housing in perpetuity."

"The fraternities have informed the college through their attorney that they do not wish to continue negotiations and are instead considering litigation. We are disappointed by this response, have urged them to reconsider their position, and remain ready, now and in the future, to resume discussions with representatives of all or any of the fraternities."

October 2001

January 2002

March 2002