Pomona Students Fall Into Lap of Luxury

When Mark Pettis went away to college, he knew there would be changes in his life style. He just didn’t think they would include maid service, swimming pool and spa.

But that’s exactly what Pettis and 55 other Pomona College students have been experiencing since Jan. 14, when they checked out of their dorm and into rooms at Griswold’s Claremont Center, a hotel and restaurant complex about a mile from campus.

The exodus came after campus officials decided to close the dormitory, A.K. Smiley Hall, after a structural check during winter break revealed that it is a potential earthquake hazard.

Renovation of the 1908 dorm, the oldest on campus, originally was planned for the summer. But, after reviewing the structural study, officials decided to evacuate the building and start the work in early February, said John Giboney, director of campus planning and maintenance.

The dorm is scheduled to reopen by the fall semester. Meanwhile, Smiley’s student residents will be relocated in a new 87-bed dorm scheduled to be completed March 1.

But until then, the evacuees are roughing it at Griswold’s, taking advantage of room service and other amenities at the 273-bed hotel, which ordinarily charges $75 a night for single rooms and $85 for doubles. Shuttle buses ferry students between the campus and the hotel every half-hour from 7 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., with runs until 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“At first I thought this was ludicrous,” said Alan Taylor, a senior who was one of the resident advisers at Smiley Hall. “But this is the most elegant hotel I’ve ever stayed in. . . . The major inconvenience is having to take a shuttle back and forth.”

Tracy Parsons, a senior anthropology major, said: “Some of my friends are envious because we have maid service, and we don’t have to make our own beds.”

The students, who are paying $2,600 a semester for room and board on campus, do not have to pay extra for their hotel stay, except for room service snacks, if they order them.

The students still eat their meals in a campus dining hall. However, the hotel stay is costing the college $50 a night per room, double occupancy, college officials said. At that rate, 28 rooms would cost the college $1,400 per night.

Despite the upscale accommodations, some students complain about what they are missing back on campus.

“This is my last semester here . . . my last chance to have a campus life,” said Sylvia Hurston, a senior government major. “Living off-campus makes me feel excluded. Here you can’t hang out in the hallway and just talk. It’s not as carefree as we’re used to.”

Linda Elderkin, dean of residential life, said the initial reaction of the students was “surprise and some dismay.”

“Pomona College is a residential college,” Elderkin said. “Living on campus is very important to the academic, social and personal lives of most of our students.”

The students have caused no problems with the hotel’s paying clientele, officials said. “Things are going really well. We haven’t had any complaints from guests,” said Barbara Leming, corporate sales manager for Griswold’s. “We have always worked very closely with the colleges, and we are glad to help out.”

Smiley Hall, a three-story concrete structure with a red tile roof, was dedicated on Nov. 21, 1908, and hailed as a symbol of classical architecture. But in recent years, its age has begun to show.

“The plumbing was the worst,” Hurston said. “If you were taking a shower and someone flushed the toilet you would lose water. . . . The sink would sometimes clog, and you could tell that the walls had been painted several times.”

The scheduled $1.25 million to $1.5 million renovation of the 72-room dorm includes upgrading the walls with reinforced concrete and replacing plumbing, heating and electrical systems. But the outside of the building, Giboney said, will remain unchanged to “maintain its historical integrity.”