Housing, Dining, and Parking
Bryce McCullough, Horacio Garcia-Rojas, and Carson Meadors
Our project team studied the history of Housing, Dining, and Parking at Wabash and its relation to college governance.
Regarding Housing, there have been many changes to the living situation, but three important changes we focused on were the construction of Mud Hollow in 1947, the college giving out loans for the renovation of fraternity housing, and the construction of the Ott district in 2016. After World War II, the College constructed federally funded housing in Mud Hollow for veterans and their families. Secondly, in 1962, the Bureau of Internal Revenues’ new tax ruling stated that a college could accept a deductible tax contribution for building Fraternity housing. This rule could only work if the house was owned by the college, so Fraternities started to hand over the deeds to Wabash to get renovations. All of the fraternities are owned by the college now. The next major change in housing on campus was the Ott district being constructed in 2016 for Independents. We consulted Dean Redding and interviewed him on why the college decided to own all residence buildings. The administration just recently required every student to live on campus in 2017.
Wabash College has gone through extravagant changes in supplying food to students. Before the mid 40’s, Wabash students created cooking clubs where students would pool money together to either buy their own food or pay a cook to prepare meals. The college has had a long history with Scarlett Inn, where it originally started as a kitchen that fed students simple meals due to the lack of restaurants and centralized meals at Wabash. In 1946, the College decided to centralize meals and provide meal services to students. Some houses were even created because of the incentive of food, like Lambda Chi. One interesting story we cover in our project was Dr. Warner and students’ role in switching from Sodexo to Bon Appetit. We interviewed Dr. Warner to discuss this process.
Parking at Wabash had a dramatic start. When automobiles became more used in the early 1900s, cars emerged on campus, leading to a question of how they should be regulated. Many people thought they were eyesores, and in 1922, President Mackintosh banned automobiles on campus. In 1925, the trustees ordered cars would only be allowed on the weekend. Students were still not pleased, and the student body voted to go on a strike if any student were expelled for having a vehicle on campus. In 1934, a registration system was put into place so students could get approval to park their automobiles on campus. Now, all members of the Wabash Community are allowed to bring their cars to campus. One recent event related to parking surrounded the new optional parking tag system. We interviewed current Campus Safety and Security Director Nick Gray, who has a very hands-off view of campus parking, putting it under the Gentleman’s rule, and then-Student Body President Charlie Esterline, who helped convince the Senate to fund the parking tags.
During a time when cars were still being developed and mass-produced, many people, including students, began to use vehicles to make travel more convenient. In 1925, Wabash College put a ban on automobiles on campus because they said that they were eyesores and dangerous to humans. The President made the directive first, followed by the trustees. Seen in the picture is the Bachelor article covering the student response to the ban. Students were discontent with the decision of trustees to infringe on their own personal belongings and choices; most students were frustrated and argued that they should be able to have their automobiles on campus. The student body came together and agreed to strike if any student were expelled for having an automobile at Wabash.
During the 1920’s, people across the nation were hesitant to accept cars because it had caused accidents. Wabash felt the same way; the college administration posted a regulation in The Bachelor stating that cars not only endanger life, but also “increases opportunities to cause trouble.” However, the administration recognized in 1934 that the automobile was on the rise as a necessity for transportation. So, they rolled back the car ban and allowed automobiles on campus with certain regulations. After immense pushback from the student body, they were finally able to have a vehicle after applying for registration of that vehicle. Furthermore, students could only have an automobile on campus with the consent of a parent, and the automobile would only be able to be in use for “pleasure driving” on the weekends. Other regulations pertaining to the safety of driving were also included in the policy.
These two images are both areas where students can grab a bite to eat, but Wabash offered different types of food options. The college did not centralize meals until 1946, and even with centralized meals the College lacked quality food providers, so what Wabash men did to feed themselves was to eat at the Scarlett Inn. The restaurant has been a part of the Institution's image since the 1940s and still resonates today; in the Scarlett Inn image, we see the early stages of meal plans for Wabash men during a time when Wabash instated centralized meals in 1946. While centralized meals were already in place, this image was taken in the mid to early 50s where Wabash students commonly ate at Scarlett Inn when Sparks was being built during the early 50’s. It was not until 1954 that a cafeteria was open to students at Wabash, and served as a multi-purpose area that included a bowling alley, Scarlett Inn, and a meeting room. The opening of Sparks was a big step for Wabash College, this meant that students could go to Sparks and eat their meals in the large dining hall with other Wabash students. Now with centralized meals, the college can now supply students with meals so students could rely on the institution rather than hiring cooks and forming food clubs.
This is an outline of the activities of the Wabash College Student Commissary Association; during this time period the college lacked any form of centralized meals, and meant that students would have to come together and feed themselves or eat at the Scarlett Inn. However, there are students that came together and formed eating programs to feed more students across campus. The students purchased the cooking supplies and materials needed to make food for large pools of students. These students organized a dining room 3 properly balanced meals a day. The result was improved health and well-being of students. Students washed their own dishes, waited the tables, and purchased all the supplies themselves, showing a student drive to provide a sufficient meal experience on campus.
After World War II, Wabash had to create living units for the students who have a family. The College placed fifteen living units on the south side of Jennison street, across the railroad tracks. These units were split in two and each apartment had two bedrooms, a living room, and a bathroom. Each unit had an oil stove, water heater, an icebox, and furniture. These living units were finished in 1947 and lasted for thirteen years before falling into disrepair. During the Mud Hollow living units’ thirteen years, it housed 182 student and faculty families. These families had to pay rent, which was $30 per month. The college recognized the unique situation after the war and stepped up to supply veteran families with living quarters with basic living equipment, which made attending Wabash much easier for them. We attached a letter from Doris and Dick Strawn depicting their account of living in the Mud Hollow Houses.
This bachelor article from 1962 reviews the decision for the college to take ownership of the fraternities on campus to either renovate them or build a new one. The article describes the Bureau of Internal Revenues ruling on a tax-deductible contribution to a college for the purpose of building fraternity housing. For this rule to be applied, the college had to have ownership of the house. The first fraternity to take advantage of this deal was Beta Theta Pi. Beta had to come up with half of the cost for construction in cash donations and secure pledges. The college would come up with the other half of the cost, but Beta had to pay rent comparable to Independent living units. At first, fraternities were afraid of giving the deed of the house to the college because they did not want the college to have even more control over them, but over time they realized that college ownership meant better support for renovations and upkeep. Now, all of the fraternities are owned by the college.
The living units today include a plethora of room types, from singles to quads, for any Wabash man that decides to live independently. Recently, the college underwent a significant overhaul in independent living units in the new Ott District, such as Rogge and Williams, townhouses, and lodges. This is because Wabash needed to fill more beds and in 2018, they amended a rule that encouraged students to live on campus rather than off campus. This later became mandatory for all students, increasing the need for on-campus housing. Other areas on campus have been renovated, like Martindale Hall. In addition, all the living units have access to kitchens but one living unit, but all independents have access to Sparks for dining. While these new houses for independents are nice additions to the college living experience, we have experienced some unplanned effects. For example, the new and renovated living units along with the effects of the pandemic might have decreased Greek life numbers, given the independent units are typically nicer and more private spaces than fraternities. Additionally, it has made it difficult for the Dean of Students office and fraternity rush chairs to fill all the beds in fraternities because of the shift in where students live.