Some of the changes brought on by freshman housing’s move from the Residential Quad to the Susan B. Anthony, Gilbert and Hoeing residence halls will be new to freshman and sophomores, but will seem very familiar to upperclassmen.
For the most part, the housing lottery will return to the way it was before freshman housing was enacted, but some of the changes made during the creation of freshman housing will remain.
Moving freshman housing into Sue B., Gilbert and Hoeing will significantly increase the number of single rooms available for upperclassmen on campus. 64.8 percent of all rooming options for sophomores, juniors and seniors will be without a roommate, up from approximately 50 percent last year. Over 120 singles will be gained from Burton and Crosby Halls alone.
Upperclass students have expressed their approval for the change. “I think it’s a good move for the freshmen. [Current] freshman feel isolated,” said junior Kate Beecher.
Caroline Severson, also a junior, added “freshmen don’t know what the best housing is, so forcing them into Sue B. is fine.”
Burton and Crosby halls, which were traditionally single sex before freshman housing moved to the quad, will remain mixed residences for next year.
Currently, the top floor of each building is single sex, and Director of Residential Life Logan Hazen said that he is looking for enough interest to continue the single sex floors next year. In the past, the large doubles in Burton were an attraction for sophomore girls and the large singles with sinks drew seniors of both sexes.
The Tiernan Project was located on the sixth floor of Sue B. this past year, but with the freshman class moving to Sue B., this will no longer be an option. Tiernan does not have enough members to fill all of Tiernan hall, and can no longer fill empty spaces with freshman as they had before freshmen housing was created.
The project’s final location is still undecided, but the program may be able to fill a floor in Tiernan Hall.
Sophomores will again be guaranteed housing on River Campus, but can voluntarily move to the Graduate Living Center if they choose to. Residential Life has seen a lot of sophomore interest in GLC, and Hazen is not worried about finding people to voluntarily fill up the building. A small number of 3-bedroom apartments in GLC will be separated for a special 3-room lottery that will occur early within the rest of the GLC lottery.
Hazen expects that the most interest will come from sophomores who are interested in apartment-style living, but the lottery is open to all. Senior Aron Jenkins said, “now for GLC you have to have a lottery. So many people don’t want to end up in Sue B.”
As graduates move out of GLC, Residential Life is retaining their rooms to increase the number of rooms available for undergraduate housing.
Hazen said that Residential Life is unsure if the River Road facility will be used to house undergraduates next year. Currently 16 undergraduates live in the converted convent.
Hazen explained that the decision to use River Road will be a last minute one, and described the facility as a “safety valve.” “We shouldn’t need it, but we’re prepared to use it,” Hazen said.
Overall, the room draw process will return to how it was before freshman housing. Last year’s lottery process was very tumultuous, but Hazen said that room draw “should go smoother, it’s back to the way it was before.”
Sophomore Stephen DiGiovanni is currently living in Special Interest Housing, and plans to again next year. “I have a sheltered view ? but I appreciate the administration looking at its current residents and the whole campus, not just one class.”
Room selection material will be available after spring break.
DeSantis can be reached at kdesantis@campustimes.org.
