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Dorms closed to students

Currently, the Mills campus is like a huge shuffling board.
Buildings are switching and new associations are being brought to
campus.

To start the transition, two of the residence halls, Mary Morse
and Aurelia Reinhardt, were closed to Mills students.

Reinhardt is being renovated because of the poor condition that
it is in. Last year, it experienced many problems with water
leakage. When it is finished, it will open for Conference, both to
house Conference guests and for their central location. For now,
work was done on it over the summer to be able to open it for the
MBA program this fall.

Because of this closure, a lot of Reinhardt residents and some
other residents moved into the other building on the hill, Ege
Hall. Coming back this summer, some students were disappointed to
find that not all of the promised renovations were finished.

These renovations included a new recreation room, satellite
television, and a way to keep the hallways cool. While these tasks
have not been completed, they are in the works and there were many
improvements made over the summer break, including new furniture
and new paint.

Karen Maggio, who has been working on Ege Hall for the past year
and a half, said that it is “going through growing pains to open up
as a Mills residence hall.”

The other residence hall that did not re-open this fall is Mary
Morse. Last year Mary Morse and Ethel Moore, both on the hill, were
open and they were quite empty.

Mary Morse is now being used for Conference and all the
residents have moved to another dorm. The main reason that Mary was
closed is that there was a “loss of community” with everyone being
so spread out, said Moire Bruin, Director of Residential and
Commuting Life.

Another change, which is causing Conference to move, is that the
Julia Morgan School for Girls is moving on to the Mills campus and
will be in Alderwood Hall. Alderwood is where Conference currently
has its main office.

“It is a positive thing that the Julia Morgan School is moving
to campus. However, I hope it does not compromise the living
situation for students on campus,” said graduate student, Sarah
Storey.

Many people have also noticed the renovations happening to the
building right next to White Hall, where EF is. This is the old
children’s school and it is being renovated to be new offices for
some of the faculty on campus.

All of the changes that are taking place are going to benefit
Mills both as a community, bringing us closer together, and
financially.

By consolidating the residence halls, Mills is saving money on
utilities and staffing.

Last year Mills paid approximately $15,000 a month in heating
costs, $30,000 during power crises, not to mention the cost of
keeping all of the walkways and hallways lit.