Miller’s unglamorous study rooms and sleeping porches meant common areas like the TV room or the stairs in the foyer became spontaneous social arenas where we mingled with residents other than our roommates. By sharing a family-size kitchen with seven other women, we learned how to live alongside one other. Since Miller and Watkins constructed in the 1920s and 1930s, the university has chosen to put large, commercial-sized kitchens in its newer scholarship halls.

At Miller, a strong sense of history and community replaced luxuries like air conditioning and pool tables.

If the university adds scholarship halls, I urge it to look at Elizabeth Miller Watkins model rather than continue creating residences, like those already on the periphery of the Oread neighborhood, which are fancier  and more expensive  while passing the cost on to “scholarship” recipients. Through Elizabeth Miller Watkins’ graciousness, we were blessed with minimal housing fees that made living at Miller a privilege  and a true scholarship.

With admitted cynicism, sometimes the university seems more interested in creating overpriced recruiting tools for Merit scholars and other high-achieving students than it is in providing those deserving students a cost break and a unique living opportunity.

If the university tears down homes, it should at least make the buildings’ demise worthwhile.

Erinn R. Barcomb,

former Miller resident,

Lawrence