Walker Hall, which has recently been repurposed for graduate student housing, has faced a myriad of cleanliness complaints in a short time frame, which the University claims to be addressing.
Walker Hall was first utilized as graduate housing in the fall of 2023 in order to accommodate the graduate school’s growing student population. However, it did not take long until complaints were made to the Housing and Graduate school about the allegedly inhabitable living conditions.
Nivedita Kanrar GS, along with other students, created a petition to call for change in 2023. Roughly one-third of the Walker Hall inhabitants signed this petition and notified the housing office, which stated, “Despite paying housing prices comparable to Graduate College residents and some Lakeside/Lawrence/Annex residents, Walker Hall residents have had to contend with living
arrangements far inferior to other on-campus graduate housing options.”
“Many of us have found cockroaches, centipedes, moths, spiders, and silverfish in our dorm rooms. We are also aware that several rooms in the building had to be treated for wasps nests,” the document continued.
Along with dust and construction noise complaints, the petition also complained that “Footnotes, an undergraduate acapella group, makes use of Walker Hall at odd hours, even though it is a graduate residence.” The students called for a reduced housing fee, but no solution was achieved, putting the issue at a standstill.
Kanrar declined to be interviewed on this issue.
University spokesperson, Jennifer Morrill, wrote in an email to The Daily Princetonian, “Housing and the Graduate School continue to work with the graduate students housed at Walker and to respond to any concerns that are raised … Housing and the Graduate School received feedback from the Walker residents and worked collaboratively, primarily with Facilities, to address concerns throughout AY23–24.”
The housing office did not elaborate further on what these specific concerns currently are.
Walker Hall was formerly a part of First College and belonged to the undergraduate housing pool. In 2022, First’s destruction began and the construction of Hobson College took its place. Walker Hall was excluded from First’s demolition.
A first-year graduate student, granted anonymity over privacy concerns, shared that her “overall experience is rather positive” living in Walker Hall.
“I think it is so positive because of the location. It is so central,” they explained. Beyond this, the student shared that being near the Hobson construction site has not been a large disturbance.
However, when asked about insects, their answers became less favorable.
“When I first entered my room in August, there were ants, spiders and also cockroaches … I actually reached out to the Walker Hall [housing staff], and I told them I would love for them to come and disinfect my room. I’ve never heard from them. They didn’t come to disinfect my room,” they said. The ‘Prince’ obtained documentation of the graduate student’s correspondence requesting these services.
“The communication is an issue,” they summarized.
This issue still seems to be recurring, even after the 2023 petition. A 2023 TigerDraw review reads, “We didn’t have the same ant problem as the rest of the floors, but there were frequent roaches and house centipedes.”
“The room size is nice, [it’s a] pretty old building, [and it’s] nice to live in central campus,” visiting graduate student Ella Tuominen wrote to the ‘Prince.’
However, Tuominen also opined about the negative condition of the room.
“The room was really dirty when I moved in, like dust everywhere coming from the ventilation units open to the construction site,” she wrote. “What has been even more bothersome has been the noises that start daily at 7 a.m., loud banging and vehicles going right underneath my window. I practically wake up to it every weekday and the sounds are so loud that earplugs or noise canceling headphones don’t even help.”
“I moved here from central London to work on my Ph.D. for the fall semester,” Tuominen continued, “and I didn’t expect to be living somewhere significantly noisier than central London. [I] thought Princeton would be a lovely, quiet peaceful change to the noisy city life.”
She wrote that, in early October, “I submitted the official [room] change request and never heard back from anyone.”
“I wasn’t told anything about possible construction works so nearby in advance. Had I known, I would’ve reconsidered moving to Walker … It’s impacting my sleep, mood, and energy levels to a huge degree,” she concluded.
Another first-year masters student, Ilya Maier GS, seemed to have had a more positive experience. “It’s been good overall … I think I might stay here next year as well,” he explained.
Maier’s only complaint was, “At night it might be somewhat loud outside as there is some noise coming from people going to the street.” However, he claimed to never have experienced insect or mouse issues.
This will be the last year that Walker Hall will be used as graduate housing, following the opening of more on-campus apartments for graduate students, including the Meadows apartments which were opened in spring 2024.
“Walker Hall will return to the undergraduate inventory for AY25–26,” Morrill revealed. “Therefore, Walker Hall will be available for selection during the spring 2025 undergraduate Room Draw.”
While some students believe work still needs to be done to ensure that graduate students are having an enjoyable, comfortable university experience, the University still claims to take swift action against any and all complaints.
“No matter where in University housing graduate students live, they are treated and supported the same way and we work to address any concerns,” Morrill said.
Kimberly Vasta is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Meghana Veldhuis is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Bergen County, N.J. and typically covers faculty and graduate students.
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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