Editor’s note: the writers of this piece both currently reside in Paran Creek Apartments.
Paran Creek is a haven for many students looking for affordability and personal space. However, with that comes challenges.
Paran Creek Apartments, located on Scarey Lane in North Bennington, has just had its lease renewed with Bennington College for another five years. The off-campus housing community, first opened in 2017, has received an influx of 12 students this year. Some have reported they are struggling to receive basic services such as heat, stable internet connection, and working washing machines. The apartments have been known to house a large portion of FLOW (first-generation, low-income, or working class) and international students.
Paran Creek is one of three former paper mill buildings renovated into apartments in 2017 by HRH Management. The college is currently renting them from H.R Lloyd-Williams. Bennington College has not confirmed whether they will purchase Paran Creek in the near future.
Andy Schlatter, the Vice President for Facilities Management and Planning at Bennington, shared his thoughts on the lease renewal and increased student population.
“We need the space,” Schlatter told the Lens in an interview. “Frankly, we don’t have enough space on campus to house the current student enrollment. So that was the reason that that building was leased initially in 2017. So until we are able to build new housing on campus or come up with other solutions for housing our students, we need that space.”
According to Muhammed Ammar, a Paran Creek house chair, this year is the first time there has been fully working laundry in PCA. Most facility maintenance has been switched over in the new lease from Lloyd-Williams to Bennington’s Buildings and Grounds department. Before the College took over the management of the complex, some claim that there was more bureaucracy to go through before seeing any action taken.
“It’s a different experience. Normally, we speak directly to tenants, but since it’s the college, it puts a buffer between us and the students,” says Lloyd-Williams.
Despite improvements in living conditions this year, PCA residents have experienced a lack of heating in below-freezing temperatures up until November 18th, and a long period of time without working laundry: from the start of classes until October 21st.
“We didn’t get heat until the third or fourth day of November. Then, after two days, it stopped working again. They sent a bunch of people and sent us passive-aggressive emails. It was stressful, and it was really cold,” states Wanda McEwan, a student living in PCA.
This year, there was increased interest in PCA due to the independence and room that the space offers.
“I wanted to move to Paran to have my own space, to be away from campus, and also to have a smaller, more intimate community,” says McEwan.
Off-campus housing offers students the opportunity to be on the Flex-Seven Meal Plan, which limits students to seven meal swipes a week and reduces the cost of tuition by around 6,000 dollars per year. The typical meal plan costs students $8,100.
“There are many examples of students who have not had enough financial aid to cover the cost of their tuition and other expenses,” says Tom Evans, a FLOW representative. “So they have to go to Paran Creek. What’s kind of worse, and something that kids are struggling with right now, is they’ll have a year of staying on campus, and then their financial aid packages will change, and the only option for them is to move to Paran Creek.”
“We need a real solid justification as to why we can’t have Flex Seven everywhere,” added Evans.
As of this fall, there are 65 students living in the 24 apartments in Paran Creek. Approximately 50 percent of students living there are international students. McEwan discusses the chosen family and safety that PCA offers:
“A lot of FLOW students are international students or students of color. You can’t choose [everybody] you live with in a house on campus. But in an apartment, you can choose everyone you live with for the most part. I think that creates a much safer space for people who are more vulnerable due to finances or social status,” says McEwan.
During a Bennington facilities management presentation discussing the pros and cons of PCA, Ammar claims that Paran was described as “somewhat segregated housing” due to the number of FLOW and International students living there.
Schlatter shared his thoughts on this perception, stating, “At this larger scale, the gradual trend in students opting for this model based on cost factors has led to an unintentional density of students in Paran Creek for whom financial factors are a key decision-making factor in housing selection. At the moment, many of them are international students. I think this observation allows us to evaluate and plan new housing options for the future that can accommodate a wider range of student needs, both on campus and off.”
Students still rush the Paran Creek Discord with complaints ranging from the shuttle not coming to cold nights causing sleep issues. As the term is about to end, some are wondering: will it get easier living here?
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