Illustration by Joaquin E. Kunkel/The Gazelle

Whether it’s the usual Thursday night exodus or the difficulty of navigating the campus bridge to “the other side,” there is a clear residential separation between freshman and upperclassmen on Saadiyat Island.

The problem is that this physical divide slowly edges towards a mental one. It creates a false sense of entitlement among upperclassmen, and reduces the frequency of informal exchanges across class groups. As cliques start to form around dining hall tables, the opportunity, let alone the motivation, to interact across classes wanes as the semester wears on.

The rationale for separating freshmen is repeatedly echoed by institutions worldwide that adopt a similar system. Freshmen, so it is said, enter with shared feelings of homesickness and uncertainty, so by placing them together, they are able to mutually support each other and cultivate a shared class identity.

But the fact of the matter is that these withering doubts aren’t exclusive to freshmen. Whether it be low self-esteem or long distance relationships, the guidance hatched from the regrets or joys of upperclassmen's past decisions can go a long way.

Integrating the community is an incremental and often turbulent process, but the separation of residential quarters places us two steps back before the semester even starts. Separating residences based on class groups neglects the vast intra-differences within each class in terms of age, academic and personal experiences.

It simply gives priority to a rhetoric that homogenizes individuals based on their class group. Whether it's the stigma of a senior dating a freshman or immature slurs about “frosh” making mistakes, labels do matter and residential separation merely enforces stereotypes.

Given our community’s constant glorification of the values of inclusivity and mutual respect, it only makes sense that our residential policies fall in line with such an ethos too. This is in no way a critique of the efforts of the Residential Education department, which works hard to prepare freshmen for their integration into our community. Rather, it is an easy fix to an implicit divide.

Even if it's a pass-by greeting in the laundry room or a quick question about how someone’s week is going, the repetition of these banal interactions is a reminder that we’re all under the same roof and of equal value.

This mind-boggling community is special because of our individual diversity and our ability to engage in these differences. The opportunity to realize this unparalleled trait should not be hindered by stereotypes. After all, it’s not the faint titles that we’ll recall as we exit Saadiyat, but rather the deep conversations we’ve had and the challenging experiences we’ve shared – whether with freshmen or upperclassmen.