You probably have heard at this point that a settlement has been reached to sell the Drew Forest to the Township of Madison; what you may not know is that this land sale will include selling Sitterly, Lewis House, Madison House and the commuter lot.
An ecosystem cannot survive without reliance on all its parts, and the Drew ecosystem has taken a major blow. Madison Borough’s recent front-page acquisition of land known as “The Forest” at first appears to be the Jaws of Life desperately necessary to save a university from drowning in backlogged debt. However, the tentative agreement includes more than environmental preservation and predicts a drastic cultural shift in how the entire Drew community functions.
Granting Madison custody for 50 acres worth of forest is a symptom of an internal bleeding Drew has consistently struggled to contain. The overhead costs that come from keeping the university afloat created new obstacles that Drew, decades prior, could more easily run around. This $65 million deal is intended to replenish the endowment that took a serious blow as a result of recent campus improvements, such as the construction of McLendon Hall. All parties continue reassuring students about proposed preservation efforts, but the uncertainty remains.
Within the joint press statement sent to students last Friday, concerning language crops up somewhat buried beneath fine print. The briefly mentioned “rezoning and subdivision of two other parcels of university property,” while easily overlooked, is a proposal that will arguably impact Drew students more than any shift in “Forest” titling.
Although Drew might not own its “Forest” past 2025, the land preserved has been saved from the threat of demolition. These “parcels of university property” are not so fortunate. Coming off a semester of complications caused by overpopulation, the Drew campus continues to shrink.
In response to the anticipated loss of Sitterly House, English professor Courtney Zoffness said, “Sitterly House, with its spacious offices and natural light and popular common room, has been a perk of working at Drew. It’s a gathering place for students – one that strengthens our academic community. While I appreciate the necessity of a land sale, I’m crushed to lose this beautiful space.” Other faculty have remarked that after having been there for years, Sitterly has become a “home” to them.
Sitterly is also home to The Other End, a joint café and performance space that was opened in 1986, but has since closed down.
In an Acorn article on The Other End published on Oct. 4, 2024, Jocelyn Freeman (‘25) writes, “The Other End was ushered into existence by the chairman of the Theater Department, Buzz McLaughlin. McLaughlin wanted to create a ‘real hangout’ spot for the students of Drew. The brainchild first appeared in print in a Sept. 27 edition of The Acorn. McLaughlin was inspired by the coffee house art scene of The Village in nearby New York City and wanted to bring ‘a mellow, Greenwich Village-type place’ to campus. The vision included a cozy space for live music and stand-up comedy served up alongside cappuccinos.”
Tearing down Sitterly would mean losing this historical space, which holds so many happy memories for Drew alumni. On a Facebook post announcing the land sale agreement, Alumni Mary R. Michael writes, “[I don’t know] if TOE is still in the basement of Sitterly, but my husband and I split many milkshakes there back in the day. [Rest in Peace] Sitterly!”
Moreover, Drew student Emily Cookson (‘26) is currently campaigning to reopen this space, which would drastically improve student life on campus. Beloved in the past, and perfectly geared toward current Drew students who thrive on nostalgia, the loss of The Other End would be devastating.
Madison House, located at the corner of Vinal Place and Madison Avenue, is a less familiar building to students but equally as important to the Drew community. Housed within the walls of this structure are the Human Resources, Finance and Student Employment departments, as well as other behind-the-scenes work that keep the school running.
Selling it would displace the staff to another location on campus that is unknown at this time. Not only is this future move inconvenient for the staff, but requires the transportation of secure files and documents which can get lost in the shuffle.
Additionally, faculty and students already have issues locating these departments as Madison House is not part of the main campus. While moving these departments into another campus building may not seem inconvenient, it is likely that the change will add further confusion when newly hired faculty and student workers are trying to access essential personnel.
Selling these houses also puts forward the problem of faculty office relocation. Rumors have it that the Madison House staff will be relocated to Pepin, the current mail reception and campus security building. We may wonder, however, if this already small building has the room to accommodate any more staff.
The relocation of faculty in Sitterly and Lewis House poses an even greater issue. Sitterly currently serves as the office building for 24 professors across the disciplines of English, film and gender studies, and Lewis House houses the entire economics department. There are simply not enough available offices on campus to accommodate this demand.
Rather than replace the commuter parking lot, as there is no space on campus for another lot to be built, Drew will encourage commuters and residents to park in town.
Parking in town is not only significantly more expensive and would necessitate long daily walks, but its availability is unreliable. Madison’s parking lots do not have enough supply to accommodate the demand that losing this lot would create.
So what would become of our commuter students? Our guess is that Drew can anticipate a serious loss in commuter applicants in the future, which comprises a large part of the current student body.
Commuter student Benjamin Castro (‘25) said, “The sale of the commuter lot is a disservice to our commuter students who rely on accessible parking. This decision completely disregards a vital student population!”
The Drew Forest is anticipated to be sold in the fall of 2025. As for the redevelopment of Sitterly, Lewis House, the commuter lot and Madison House, the timeline is less certain. Before redevelopment can begin, the area needs to be rezoned and go through the planning commission and the city. The city’s plan for this parcel of land is to build high-density housing and to convert it into taxable land.
Dee Cohen (‘26) stated, “The lack of communication and disregard for our needs is why so many students have trouble trusting and are discontent with the administration … They’re always working on something – meaningless construction or aesthetic grass – that nobody was concerned about. They do nothing to fix the heating problem in Riker or the mold in Tolley-Brown that actually affects the lives and comfortability of the student body.”
Drew is marketing the sale of the forest for preservation as a good thing, and we agree; however, there has not been open communication between the administration and the students and public regarding the sale of these “other parcels of university property.”
Although it is necessary for the administration to replenish the depleted endowment, we ask if selling this “peripheral land” is absolutely necessary, or if there may be other means of acquiring this money. As students, we should take action by starting fundraisers, spreading awareness and reaching out to Drew alumni for monetary support. Ways to reach alumni include Facebook, Planet Alumni and LinkedIn. If like us you value these spaces, join in on making some noise to help save our campus.
Featured image courtesy of Dee Cohen.
