were known for their strong presence in the annual Scavenger Hunt (see Breckinridge, Maclean, and BroStoMP), and they gave a strong sense of identity to the students living in these buildings. The University’s long sought-after transition from a collection of neighborhood buildings to a centralized campus cluster comes with other drawbacks as well, including distancing students from the neighborhood they reside in. Satellite dorms were one of the best ways that UChicago students developed a sense of belonging to the Hyde Park neighborhood, and to both the South Side and Chicago as a whole. Often located close to transportation and important neighborhood initiatives, and slightly farther away from the “UChicago bubble,” the satellites allowed residents to step back and get a better sense of the relationship between UChicago and the surrounding community. The way in which UChicago’s actions affected the surrounding community was tangible to satellite residents. Although the house system at UChicago itself hasn’t changed, the satellite experience is something that has been almost entirely lost to future generations of UChicago students. With only Stony Island and I-House remaining, the latter in an altered form, a unique set of experiences has been lost: many new students will never know the thrill of coming back to their house after a long walk from a long night at the Reg, the enriching interactions with the large international graduate student community living in the same building as you, or the satisfaction of painting quotations from your favorite authors on the walls of your dorm. Marion Talbot, Norman Maclean, and James Hayden Tufts, among others, names that held both academic and “We can see why [people] sentimental values for whole communities, really love it here. Because will not hold any meaning for entire classes of future UChicago students. we wouldn’t give this up Additionally, satellite dorms provided essential variety to the housing options for first-years. Private bathrooms, which used to be available in many of the satellite dorms, are no longer an option (with the closest alternative being bathrooms shared –Harper Graf by suites, or single-user bathrooms shared by an entire house). These bathrooms were especially important for students who value or need privacy, like some trans students. With the move to North, the possibility of a firstyear receiving a single is drastically reduced. Whereas housing used to work for a lot of different types of people, now it primarily caters to someone who wants social interaction most of the time, who likes to share space, and who doesn’t mind communal bathrooms.
for the world.’ And really feel like we shouldn’t and we don’t want to.”
Even more importantly, the closure of the satellites makes it clear that while the University of Chicago continues to send admissions brochures touting the benefits of the house system and the uniqueness of each community, its actions show that it would rather take away students’ ability to choose their own experience in favor of a system that is impressive to donors and to ranking lists. These types of actions make it clear that UChicago is more concerned with improving its household perception than actually providing the best opportunities for out-of-classroom growth for its students. The repeated evidence of this attitude make students feel instrumental—only valued in use to the end of making UChicago look good, and not valued in themselves. That’s why it matters. Now here’s what happened... 176