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The housing gods have answered our prayers: Charles River, a.k.a. Grad, is finally getting a makeover.

Built in 1972 the Grad apartments, known to some students as Stalin-Grad for it’s resemblance to Communist block housing, have long been the subject of much student lamentations.

The buildings are not only unpleasant to look at, they are also unbearable to live in: Kitchen drawers fall out at random, the ovens are unpredictable, the toilets overflow and the showers are moldy. What’s more, the lack of lighting likens the rooms to caves.

It’s no surprise that last year there were 300 vacant beds between Grad and Foster Mods left by students opting to live off campus rather than suffer Grad’s horrors.

Charles River has long been the canker sore of Brandeis housing–it is both ugly and painful to live with. Its renovation is the much needed Abreva ointment.