Spring Break
Large freshman class squeezes dorm space
Nick Tabor
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: News
Junior Kari Snyder found out too late that eight of her fellow Paul House residents planned to leave the residence for Greek and off-campus houses this year.
But last-minute shuffling in the deans' offices shifted matters in Snyder's favor: She received off-campus permission in June.
"I threw it out there, and I got what I wanted," she said. "I was just really surprised because no junior girls get off-campus, that I've heard of."
Philipp said this year's freshman class turned out larger than the deans anticipated, so during the summer they moved numerous students to different dorms and granted more students off-campus permission than usual.
"We just kept getting more and more and more (freshmen)," she said. "We kept filling up."
Philipp placed six of the 285 incoming freshman women in Benzing Residence after Olds Residence and McIntyre Residence ran out of space.
Benzing Resident Assistant Victoria Bergen, a sophomore, said she and the other RAs sent the freshmen to activities in Olds and McIntyre during orientation so they could meet their classmates.
But the freshmen still have to adjust to living with upperclassmen.
"I think it's probably a little weird for them just because we all know what we're doing, but it's also probably a good thing because they can go to anyone in the dorm and not just RAs to ask for advice," Bergen said.
Philipp said putting freshmen in Benzing created a "domino effect." She needed to move Benzing residents to the Suites and put Suites residents in college-owned houses.
Senior Hannah Stone said she and her suitemates gladly accepted an offer to live in one such house on Union Street, formerly called the Ramp.
"We love our little house a lot," she said. "But it has some really special issues. The stairs are really creaky. They sound like a train when you go up and down."
Still, had she moved off-campus, she would have to pay for utilities and furniture and live farther from campus, Stone said. Her current arrangement solves all those problems.
Philipp said 14 female students live in similar houses.
Dean of Men Aaron Petersen said no males live in college-owned houses, but he did grant off-campus permission to all but four students who applied - all of them sophomores.
He notified some students during the summer as the freshman class gradually ballooned.
Philipp said she and Petersen make similar adjustments every year, as they can't gauge the freshman class size until late in summer, after most prospectives have replied to the acceptance letters the admissions department sends out on April 1.
"A whole bunch of people are saying, 'Yes,' " Philipp said. "We're just becoming very popular."
Admissions Director Jeff Lantis said his department can prevent most last-minute shifts in campus housing by accurately predicting the freshman class size.
"Really we just have to take our historical data and use it to predict better," he said. "We can just do a better job in admissions."
But last-minute shuffling in the deans' offices shifted matters in Snyder's favor: She received off-campus permission in June.
"I threw it out there, and I got what I wanted," she said. "I was just really surprised because no junior girls get off-campus, that I've heard of."
Philipp said this year's freshman class turned out larger than the deans anticipated, so during the summer they moved numerous students to different dorms and granted more students off-campus permission than usual.
"We just kept getting more and more and more (freshmen)," she said. "We kept filling up."
Philipp placed six of the 285 incoming freshman women in Benzing Residence after Olds Residence and McIntyre Residence ran out of space.
Benzing Resident Assistant Victoria Bergen, a sophomore, said she and the other RAs sent the freshmen to activities in Olds and McIntyre during orientation so they could meet their classmates.
But the freshmen still have to adjust to living with upperclassmen.
"I think it's probably a little weird for them just because we all know what we're doing, but it's also probably a good thing because they can go to anyone in the dorm and not just RAs to ask for advice," Bergen said.
Philipp said putting freshmen in Benzing created a "domino effect." She needed to move Benzing residents to the Suites and put Suites residents in college-owned houses.
Senior Hannah Stone said she and her suitemates gladly accepted an offer to live in one such house on Union Street, formerly called the Ramp.
"We love our little house a lot," she said. "But it has some really special issues. The stairs are really creaky. They sound like a train when you go up and down."
Still, had she moved off-campus, she would have to pay for utilities and furniture and live farther from campus, Stone said. Her current arrangement solves all those problems.
Philipp said 14 female students live in similar houses.
Dean of Men Aaron Petersen said no males live in college-owned houses, but he did grant off-campus permission to all but four students who applied - all of them sophomores.
He notified some students during the summer as the freshman class gradually ballooned.
Philipp said she and Petersen make similar adjustments every year, as they can't gauge the freshman class size until late in summer, after most prospectives have replied to the acceptance letters the admissions department sends out on April 1.
"A whole bunch of people are saying, 'Yes,' " Philipp said. "We're just becoming very popular."
Admissions Director Jeff Lantis said his department can prevent most last-minute shifts in campus housing by accurately predicting the freshman class size.
"Really we just have to take our historical data and use it to predict better," he said. "We can just do a better job in admissions."
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