The final chapter in The Courts trilogy

As previous investigation by The Weekly has proven, the information published on July 12 by The Morning Call article about The Courts was not entirely correct.

The article, titled “Muhlenberg College adding temporary dorm after banning frat from its campus house” stated that “the closing of the fraternity house has caused the housing shortage,” which resulted in the need to build a temporary dorm. As explained by Senior Associate Director of Housing Aaron Bova in previous articles by The Weekly, the addition of the 15 fraternity brothers to the lottery couldn’t possibly have caused the housing shortage of 40 beds.

So, then, why did The Morning Call think so?

In their article, The Morning Call quoted Muhlenberg Capital Project Manager David Rabold’s response to a question asked at an Allentown Planning Commission meeting. Rabold had gone there to get permission to build the temporary modular unit soon to be called The Courts. The building was to be in place for the next three years, which exceeded the time span the commission defined as temporary. Rabold had attended with an architectural representative, who was initially answering questions before Rabold stepped up. Rabold had been asked why the College needed these additional beds. Looking for a quick and simple answer, Rabold told the commission about the two empty fraternity houses, one of which closed this past spring, and one of which had been closed for years, which totaled approximately 40 beds.

“Quite honestly, it was my fault. I cannot deny my responsibility. I was looking for a simple explanation to commission, and when asked a direct question I gave a very quick, simple answer that turned out to be not well thought out,” said Rabold, “[The Morning Call] jumped on my oversimplification.”

Rabold explained that he said what he did in hopes of saving time in his already tight schedule. Compared to the last few years, enrollment is up, Rabold said, but it is still less than what the College has had at its peak. Had Rabold said that Muhlenberg had grown, the City of Allentown “would have forced us to do a parking use, sewer use studies and obtain new permits for each one of those. All of which would have taken time that we didn’t have.”

Muhlenberg became aware of its housing shortage in early April, at first expecting to be short about 65 beds. By May, the number had dwindled down to 40. According to The Morning Call article, The Allentown Planning Commission signed off on the plan to build the temporary housing on July 12. The modules arrived on campus starting July 14. Between then and move-in on Aug. 26, the modules were assembled into the building and the entire interior was redone, so it was up to code. Muhlenberg received its Occupancy Permit on Aug. 24, just two days before move-in.

“The fact that we got it done in time was quite a tribute to Plant Ops,” said Rabold.

As for the article, Rabold and Bova alike were unhappy with the end result.

“I was disappointed the article focused on a side issue,” said Rabold, “rather than the simple need for temporary additional beds.”

Bova, on the other hand, understood why so many students were upset, and said he’d feel the same way in their shoes.

“[The Morning Call article] created this dynamic where being moved to The Courts was somehow being perceived as a punishment, and we were doing everything we could to make sure The Courts would have the same standards as any other residence hall,” said Bova. “[The article] then created a sort of unnecessary assumption on the behalf of the reader that ... we were somehow punishing the people we had chosen to put there because we weren’t putting the fraternity men in this perceived-to-be less-than desirable temporary housing.”

On July 15, Lara Kuhns e-mailed students a letter from the Director of Residential Services (ORS) and Interim Dean of Students containing much of the same information presented in The Weekly’s findings. Spokesperson for the College Mike Bruckner also contacted The Morning Call, who then updated some information from their original article, although not to the extent which Bova would have liked.

Of the residents of The Courts interviewed, those who had read the article agreed with Bova and Aaron, such as Nadia Ureña, ’19.

“I was really annoyed at the media coverage of The Courts” said Ureña, “because I think the journalists that rushed to write, wrote the articles prematurely without getting all of the facts. They had, at first, implied that the men from the closed frat house would be living at The Courts (which was a lie) and attributed The Courts solely to the frat house closing down when there were other factors that played into The Courts being established in the first place. I just thought the articles were reckless.”

Emily Robinson, ’19, also a resident of The Courts, shared a similar opinion.

“I think the articles, for the most part, were filled with information that was not entirely accurate,” said Robinson, “which then caused the community to become outraged before facts had a chance to make their way out. I think there was a lot of confusion over the whole situation, but personally, ORS had given the residents all of the specific information of the building and situation long before these articles surfaced.”

Before the release of the article, Bova said, the Office of Residential Services had been working extensively with the students who would be moved into the dorm and had not made that information public until The Morning Call article came out.

The Weekly has reached out to The Morning Call for comment but as of the date of publication has not received a response.