But Tyson said that Turman North was not inferior housing. Res Life had planned to house freshmen in Turman East in the fall and move them to Turman North in the spring so that both areas can be renovated. Because construction will not begin until spring, the 85 students in Turman East will remain there all year. Director of Residential Services Todd Schill said the recent fires in residence halls at the University of North Carolina and Seton Hall propelled Emory to comply with a mandate that required sprinkler systems to be present in each dorm. While most of Emory s other dormitories already have sprinklers, they will be installed in Turman in January.
Administrators expect the renovations to continue through next summer.
In addition to installing sprinklers, contractors remove the characteristic tile from Turman s exterior, improve the lighting in the hallways and common areas, and construct new entrances. We d like to make it feel more like the center of campus, Schill said. Though approximately 300 freshmen live in Turman each year, this year fewer than 5 percent of freshmen will call it home. The first floor of Turman East will remain empty, after water penetrated and rotted the walls, the windows have been faulty since the 1980s and the threat of flooding make the floor unsafe to live in, Schill said. Tyson said she is not concerned about the small freshman population in Turman East feeling isolated from the rest of campus.